# Where in America???



## covfan71 (Apr 10, 2008)

Hi everyone,

apologies if this question has been asked severla times but i couldn't find anything going back a few pages. 
My family and i want to get out of the UK and move to America. The only problem we have is we have no idea where abouts to live. Ideally somewhere warm and where my children will grow up better off than the UK


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Given the "challenges" getting an immigrant visa these days, your "ideal place" in the US is just about anywhere you can find the sort of job that will get you the necessary visa. (And that's often not an easy task, either, and will only get more difficult as the world economy crumbles.)

Unless you have family members in the US who can sponsor you (and that route takes some time), you have to find a way to support yourself first - and depending on what you do for a living, that can limit you to certain parts of the country.
Cheers,
Bev


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## covfan71 (Apr 10, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> Given the "challenges" getting an immigrant visa these days, your "ideal place" in the US is just about anywhere you can find the sort of job that will get you the necessary visa. (And that's often not an easy task, either, and will only get more difficult as the world economy crumbles.)
> 
> Unless you have family members in the US who can sponsor you (and that route takes some time), you have to find a way to support yourself first - and depending on what you do for a living, that can limit you to certain parts of the country.
> Cheers,
> Bev


I will hopefully moving out mortage free and will have a £800 a month pension coming in so that is the least of our worries. It's finding an area our kids can grow up in


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The current poverty threshold for a family of 4 in the US is $21,400 per year. At the current exchange rate of $1.49 to the £ your pension leaves you well under the poverty threshold. And there are no visas for those living on pensions. It's strictly work or family (unless you win the diversity lottery, assuming you're eligible).

Sorry, I'm not trying to be nasty, but it can be difficult for someone not raised in the US to understand how critically important money is in the States.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

covfan71 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> apologies if this question has been asked severla times but i couldn't find anything going back a few pages.
> My family and i want to get out of the UK and move to America. The only problem we have is we have no idea where abouts to live. Ideally somewhere warm and where my children will grow up better off than the UK


You've given me nothing to work with. Here's your budget for San Diego -- a wonderful place, assuming all children are unmarried and under 21.
EB5 visa: 0.5M down, $50k in legal and other costs.
Single-family home in nice area of SD: $2.5M
Setting up costs: $50k
So, capital required: $3.1M
Salary required to maintain a family of 4 in SD with a good lifestyle: $200k/yr

And here's your budget for somewhere in rural Oklahoma -- a wonderful place, assuming all children are unmarried and under 21.
EB5 visa: 0.5M down, $50k in legal and other costs.
Single-family home in nice area of rural OK: $250k
Setting up costs: $50k
So, capital required: $0.85M
Salary required to maintain a family of 4 in rural OK with a good lifestyle: $100k/yr

Time line for an EB5 is 1 to 2 years (kids must remain unmarried and under 21 to be on the ticket).

Do we fit in to your budget?


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## covfan71 (Apr 10, 2008)

Fatbrit said:


> You've given me nothing to work with. Here's your budget for San Diego -- a wonderful place, assuming all children are unmarried and under 21.
> EB5 visa: 0.5M down, $50k in legal and other costs.
> Single-family home in nice area of SD: $2.5M
> Setting up costs: $50k
> ...



well i obviously will not be going to San Diego is the average single family home is 2.5 million. What is a EB5 and why does it cost 500,000 in legal costs


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## covfan71 (Apr 10, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> The current poverty threshold for a family of 4 in the US is $21,400 per year. At the current exchange rate of $1.49 to the £ your pension leaves you well under the poverty threshold. And there are no visas for those living on pensions. It's strictly work or family (unless you win the diversity lottery, assuming you're eligible).
> 
> Sorry, I'm not trying to be nasty, but it can be difficult for someone not raised in the US to understand how critically important money is in the States.
> Cheers,
> Bev


Is that 21,000 just for food and bills then? I will be mortgage free and have my pension as "pocket money" so to speak. I am only 38 so i will be working, as will my wife. I am just trying to get feedback from expats to see what are nice areas to move to


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

covfan71 said:


> well i obviously will not be going to San Diego is the average single family home is 2.5 million. What is a EB5 and why does it cost 500,000 in legal costs


EB5 is the only way you can "buy" yourself into America. The program has 2 separate options: a 1 million USD investment or a 0.5 million USD investment. For the latter, you put your money in and hope to get it out again somewhere down the line. Your cards are conditional -- you have to renew them before the second anniversary. But you are a passive investor in whenever you put your money and do no even need to live in the same state.

I put *$50,000* in legal costs and fees because that's the sort of OOM you'll be paying as a family. This is not a DIY project!

BTW, I for one could not live in rural OK! Maybe you could?


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## covfan71 (Apr 10, 2008)

Fatbrit said:


> EB5 is the only way you can "buy" yourself into America. The program has 2 separate options: a 1 million USD investment or a 0.5 million USD investment. For the latter, you put your money in and hope to get it out again somewhere down the line. Your cards are conditional -- you have to renew them before the second anniversary. But you are a passive investor in whenever you put your money and do no even need to live in the same state.
> 
> I put *$50,000* in legal costs and fees because that's the sort of OOM you'll be paying as a family. This is not a DIY project!
> 
> BTW, I for one could not live in rural OK! Maybe you could?


So your saying the only way i can get into America is to pay $500,000 to buy my way in? Perhaps i should have another chat with my agent because he has mentioned many ways to get in. Thanks for your advice but i'll go back to him


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

covfan71 said:


> Is that 21,000 just for food and bills then? I will be mortgage free and have my pension as "pocket money" so to speak. I am only 38 so i will be working, as will my wife. I am just trying to get feedback from expats to see what are nice areas to move to


No, $21,400 is the level of income at which you emerge from being considered officially "impoverished" for a family of 4.

You say you'll be working, but without a green card or visa sponsorship (which means an employer willing to demonstrate you can do something that is not readily available in the local pool of citizens or legal immigrants) you are ineligible for most jobs in the US. And, depending on the job and/or visa you qualify for, you wife may or may not be able to work at all.

Best to consider the areas in which your job skills are in demand first. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## covfan71 (Apr 10, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> No, $21,400 is the level of income at which you emerge from being considered officially "impoverished" for a family of 4.
> 
> You say you'll be working, but without a green card or visa sponsorship (which means an employer willing to demonstrate you can do something that is not readily available in the local pool of citizens or legal immigrants) you are ineligible for most jobs in the US. And, depending on the job and/or visa you qualify for, you wife may or may not be able to work at all.
> 
> ...


not as easy as people think is it. thanks for your info bev. i'll dig deeper


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

covfan71 said:


> So your saying the only way i can get into America is to pay $500,000 to buy my way in? Perhaps i should have another chat with my agent because he has mentioned many ways to get in. Thanks for your advice but i'll go back to him


No -- I'm saying one way to get into America and live wherever you want is to put 0.5M down.

The word "agent" gets me worried for a start! It might be the way things are done for other places but in the US it's far better to use a suitably qualified immigration lawyer. Try ailalawyer.com to find one.

If you tell us the suggested methods, we'll give you the pros and cons. Nobody has a vested interest in selling you anything here, and everything written is available for peer review.

I have the nasty smell of an E2 and a hard sell with some harebrained scheme. But I'm pissin' in the wind unless you give us something to go on.

What is certain, however, is that there is absolutely no point in working out where to live unless you've sorted out a suitable status. Status comes before anything else. Have an EB5 and you can live anywhere you want. Take an L1b and you're living where the company's based.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Your pension will amount to $1192 per month, which is close to, if not under, the poverty level for a single person. And that's assuming the pound stabilizes against the dollar. That isn't even enough to qualify you for residency in Mexico on a retirement visa. And, if there were such a thing as a retirement visa for the US, you would not be allowed to work, but would have to live entirely on your pension and any investment income you might have.

The reason FatBrit chose Oklahoma is that it is relatively inexpensive. I am single with an income of about $1500 and I am currently searching for a retirement residence in a less expensive country because I cannot live comfortably on that amount. Remember that in the US, if you aren't working for an employer that provides it, your medical insurance for a family will run about $1100 per month. 

However, what it costs and where you live doesn't matter, because there is no way you are going to get a visa. You seem to think that GBP 800 is a substantial income, so I'm assuming you don't have at least half a million to start or invest in a business (that's what the EB5 is for).

I don't know what this agent is telling you, but I certainly hope you haven't paid out any money. There are a lot of people out there promising that they know the secret to getting US residency. Agents have no influence, and there really aren't any secrects. Major corporations in the US are begging the government to remove some new restrictions so we can keep foreign students who have earned PhDs from American universities in critical sciences. If they can't get visas for extremely highly qualified people who are already in the US, an agent isn't going to be able to get you in.


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## PieGrande (Nov 16, 2008)

There are cheaper places than Oklahoma. The question is, do you wish to live there? 

One is where we live when we are in the States, the McAllen area. A few years ago, it was shown as one of the cheapest places to retire. Problems: high crime rate because of drug traffic at the border; and hot summers.

In our retirement park, an old mobile home, with the lot included, can be purchased for less then $30,000 USD. Not everyone wants to live in a mobile home, but it is common there because of low average incomes in the area. There are local carpenters who specialize in refurbishing those otherwise old mobile homes.

That does not change the fact that visas to live in the US are very hard to get as described. I find that kind of sad. We have millions of relatively uneducated people who sneak in, but people of good character and some education such as yourself are stiffed.


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