# Moving To The USA and Don't To Work



## paul44 (May 19, 2009)

Hi I woder if someone could give me any info on living in the USA without the need to work,I am lucky to be financially secure so don't need to work anytime soon.

Having just returned from Florida on Holiday I was wondering how easy or difficult would it be to move out would I need to keep leaving the country every 90 days or could I become a non working resident?

Would really value any info for someone in my/our postion


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## mamasue (Oct 7, 2008)

Hi Paul,
the first thing you should read are the stickies at the top of the page to see if you qualify to become a resident of the US...
It may be a bit harder than you think.

Sue.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

paul44 said:


> Hi I woder if someone could give me any info on living in the USA without the need to work,I am lucky to be financially secure so don't need to work anytime soon.
> 
> Having just returned from Florida on Holiday I was wondering how easy or difficult would it be to move out would I need to keep leaving the country every 90 days or could I become a non working resident?
> 
> Would really value any info for someone in my/our postion


Living here on the VWP and spending a few days out every 90 won't work. Eventually they'll pull up the drawbridge on you.

For a non-working visa, look at an EB5. Requires half a million bucks down in an investment you won't have much control of. You may or may not get your money back eventually.


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## elarmali (Sep 21, 2011)

You could always come here on a student visa... Take a couple classes for a semester, then once you are here apply for visit visa and renew it when it expires. 

Or maybe once you are here, you will meet somebody and u can get married and get a green card from them. 

What country are you from? Since every country has different visa rules.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

elarmali said:


> You could always come here on a student visa... Take a couple classes for a semester, then once you are here apply for visit visa and renew it when it expires.
> 
> Or maybe once you are here, you will meet somebody and u can get married and get a green card from them.
> 
> What country are you from? Since every country has different visa rules.


It's really not helpful to guess immigration questions.

Student visa for a year is going to cost a minimum of $30k or more up front.
You can't apply for a visa when you're in the country.
It's often a mistake to apply for a visitor's visa if you qualify for the VWP.
Getting married solely for an immigration benefit is fraud.
Only US immigration law need concern us here.


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## elarmali (Sep 21, 2011)

I didn't suggest marrying somebody just for citizenship. I said maybe u will meet somebody and then get married. Tons of people come here and fall in love with locals, just as tons of Americans travel abroad and attend school in Europe, Africa, and so on and fall in love with people they meet and attend school with. I never suggested fraud at all. Love happens everywhere. 

And my answer may not have been a perfect solution, but it was a legal way to come over. I have many friends who have come to this country on a student visa and then later stayed on a visitor visa or continued school on their student visa. Most of them later found jobs and got sponsorship or a few fell in love and married locals. It is just a way to get ur foot in the door and give you time to find a solution. Heck, you might even realize you don't like the states once you are here, many people do. You don't have to be rude, I was just trying to help.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

elarmali said:


> You don't have to be rude, I was just trying to help.


Sorry, I was a little rude.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

elarmali said:


> You could always come here on a student visa... Take a couple classes for a semester, then once you are here apply for visit visa and renew it when it expires.
> 
> Or maybe once you are here, you will meet somebody and u can get married and get a green card from them.
> 
> What country are you from? Since every country has different visa rules.


This information is not correct. 

To obtain a student visa you have to be accepted at a US school, apply for a visa and get it granted, show proof of liquid funds for tuition/living/emergencies for the first year. The visa is tied to a specific education program. It cannot be renewed. It cannot be applied for in the US

You cannot get a Green Card from somebody:>) A US citizen can sponsor his/her spouse and apply for the Green Card. It is not a given that it will be issued.

There are very few exceptions based on country of birth.


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## elarmali (Sep 21, 2011)

I worked in the International office at my local university for two years and have met many many foreigners who married Americans they met in school... Etc. I am not claiming to all the logistics of filing for the visas, as I don't. But everybody I know that filed for a green card with an American spouse received it. Asians, Indians, and many Arabs from Morrocco, Lebanon, Jordan, and so on. The only person I have ever met that had a problem obtaining it was Egyptian, and he eventually got it also.


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## aleco (Sep 27, 2011)

You may consider EB5 visa if you can come up with 1 mil and buy a viable business with 10 employees and desirably some liquid assets to protect your investment.
Alex.


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## paul44 (May 19, 2009)

well i'm not interested in schooling or working far too old for that ! but i was thinking if i buy a condo or house how long could i stay in it each year that's all really is there a special visa for home owners?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

paul44 said:


> well i'm not interested in schooling or working far too old for that ! but i was thinking if i buy a condo or house how long could i stay in it each year that's all really is there a special visa for home owners?


The short answer is "no". Residential property and immigration are two entities. 
You have the option of staying up to 90 days with Visa Waiver Program. The final decision lies with the immigration officer at point of entry. How often you can use it in a year - this question cannot be answered. 
You can apply for a B Visa which allows up to 180 days. It means applying for the visa (which is valid for 10 years), supplying binding ties to your homeland. The option VWP cannot be used should you get turned down for B.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

twostep said:


> The option VWP cannot be used should you get turned down for B.


Maybe, maybe not. I've seen reports of ESTAs being denied and approved after a B-2 refusal. You certainly shouldn't apply for a B2 without knowing the consequences.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

paul44 said:


> well i'm not interested in schooling or working far too old for that ! but i was thinking if i buy a condo or house how long could i stay in it each year that's all really is there a special visa for home owners?


Foreigners can buy US real property......but have no right to visit it.

Retirees can sometimes swing a B2 and use it snowbird fashion, up to 180 days in and the rest of the year out. However, denial of a B2 could lead to denial of ESTA/VWP.. So, take legal advice before applying. And even with a B2, you could be denied entry after multiple visits.


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## paul44 (May 19, 2009)

thanks very much for all the replies looks like it's a move to Spain or Portugal then!


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