# moving to the US



## paulandrosie (Jan 14, 2008)

does anyone have any thoughts or opinions about moving to the US?
just how hard is it and are there any easier ways in? we are in florida at the beginning of september and we were wondering if anyone would like to meet for a chat and a coffee?


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

paulandrosie said:


> does anyone have any thoughts or opinions about moving to the US?
> just how hard is it and are there any easier ways in? we are in florida at the beginning of september and we were wondering if anyone would like to meet for a chat and a coffee?


Sure! Mine was dead easy -- DV immigrant visa processed in Prague, entered in late 2000, naturalized as US citizen in early 2006. Easy, peasy, pudding and pie.

We have no idea whether yours will be easy since you haven't told us anything except that you like coffee. I hope you actually mean coffee rather than that venti, latte, double mocha, soya milk crud.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

It depends to some extent on where you are from, what your skills are, whether you have a close (mother, father, bother, sister) relative that might sponsor you, but basically, it's pretty hard and even those who have a resonable chance spend years getting in.

So, where are you from?

And, Fatbrit, were you a Czech citizen? Not a Brit at all?


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

synthia said:


> And, Fatbrit, were you a Czech citizen? Not a Brit at all?


Nope, I'm fully Brit!


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## RICHNTRISH (Jun 4, 2008)

Fatbrit said:


> Sure! Mine was dead easy -- DV immigrant visa processed in Prague, entered in late 2000, naturalized as US citizen in early 2006. Easy, peasy, pudding and pie.


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## paulandrosie (Jan 14, 2008)

we are in northumberland england, usual story i guess, wife 2 kids and a mortgage, i`m a plastics extrusion operator with over twenty years of experience, currently making oil pipelines and i was hoping this would be enough to get me a job based visa, but i dont know where to start.
p,s yes, i like real coffee non of that hip trendy muck for me!
pps`fatbrit, care to tell us how you went about getting your visa.?


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## RICHNTRISH (Jun 4, 2008)

Sorry but i wouldn't of thought so . Only people with alot of expertise in an area of high demand in the US can get employment based visa's these days .Employers have to prove they could not hire locally .
Maybe you have a close relative living there already ?
Richard.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Do note the date fatbrit gave: 2000. After 2001, the rules involving just about anything having to do with immigration has gotten much more difficult.

Though the weather isn't nearly as warm, you may want to take a look at western Canada. The immigration system is points based and you can get a working visa that enables you to look for a job. I also hear there is something of a shortage of skilled workers out west, especially if you have experience in the oil and gas industry.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

RICHNTRISH said:


> Employers have to prove they could not hire locally.


Until recently, this proof was more an exercise in creative writing! However, Big Brother has just pulled the plug at a rather large law firm specializing in such ingenuity. Where it will go from here is anyone's guess.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> Do note the date fatbrit gave: 2000. After 2001, the rules involving just about anything having to do with immigration has gotten much more difficult.


You meet some interesting people with fascinating stories. One guy I ran into jumped ship as a roadie from a seventies Pink Floyd tour of the US and had simply never returned home. Possible back then but not very likely these days.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

paulandrosie said:


> we are in northumberland england, usual story i guess, wife 2 kids and a mortgage, i`m a plastics extrusion operator with over twenty years of experience, currently making oil pipelines and i was hoping this would be enough to get me a job based visa, but i dont know where to start.
> p,s yes, i like real coffee non of that hip trendy muck for me!
> pps`fatbrit, care to tell us how you went about getting your visa.?


Afraid the job most probably isn't going to be your path to the US. Never say never and all that, but it really isn't likely. Would possibly work for other destinations, but not the US.

My application for the diversity visa was a joke -- seriously! Other folks were asking me to help with theirs (since English wasn't their mother tongue and the instructions were 30 pages long), and as I'd done a dozen or more for other people, thought I'd throw one in for myself. Although widely traveled, never been to the US or had any great desire to go.

I find it's a common scenario among the British expat population here -- few seem to have chosen the US but rather have just ended up here through circumstance. This contrasts greatly with the expat populations in Oz, NZ and Canada.


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## paulandrosie (Jan 14, 2008)

i have always dreamt of moving to America, and now my partner and have been a few times we both want to make it our home, if we could get into Canada we would seriously consider that as an option, has anyone got any thoughts on Canada, does it have the same way of life to the US?


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

paulandrosie said:


> i have always dreamt of moving to America, and now my partner and have been a few times we both want to make it our home, if we could get into Canada we would seriously consider that as an option, has anyone got any thoughts on Canada, does it have the same way of life to the US?


Throw a post in the Canada forums and ask there.


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## paulandrosie (Jan 14, 2008)

ok i will try that


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## grifforama (Mar 12, 2008)

Fatbrit said:


> Sure! Mine was dead easy -- DV immigrant visa processed in Prague, entered in late 2000, naturalized as US citizen in early 2006. Easy, peasy, pudding and pie.
> 
> We have no idea whether yours will be easy since you haven't told us anything except that you like coffee. I hope you actually mean coffee rather than that venti, latte, double mocha, soya milk crud.


FatBrit,

How on earth did you get a diversity visa processed in Prague. I thought diversity visas were not allowed for British Citizens ?


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

grifforama said:


> FatBrit,
> 
> How on earth did you get a diversity visa processed in Prague. I thought diversity visas were not allowed for British Citizens ?


My DV was processed in Prague because I was resident in Slovakia at the time -- the US Consulate in Bratislava did not process immigrant visas.

DV eligibility has nothing to do with citizenship but is based on birthplace. If you were born in an ineligible country, you may claim the country of your spouse or, in some limited cases, even your parents.

Since the UK has such a diverse population and we get out and about a lot, it is not unusual to find "British" DV folks.


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## grifforama (Mar 12, 2008)

Fatbrit said:


> My DV was processed in Prague because I was resident in Slovakia at the time -- the US Consulate in Bratislava did not process immigrant visas.
> 
> DV eligibility has nothing to do with citizenship but is based on birthplace. If you were born in an ineligible country, you may claim the country of your spouse or, in some limited cases, even your parents.
> 
> Since the UK has such a diverse population and we get out and about a lot, it is not unusual to find "British" DV folks.


Ah. Thanks for clarifying...


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