Has anybody emigrated for somebody?

[steviem]

Right, I'm from London and met this wonderful girl from New York a year ago (she randomly messaged me over Skype). We spoke for nearly every day for 8 months and she then came over to London on February 14th, talk about an amazing Valentines Present!
We had an amazing time together and she was everything that I imagined. She came again in April and met my family and friends which was amazing, she's a teacher so was able to come during the school holiday. We are able to communicate on levels that I have never been able to with anyone else before, she's really clever and funny, beautiful and owns a MacBook, so you know she's gotta be awesome!
I managed to have enough money to go visit her in May, I stayed in Jamaica, Queens which is near to where she lives, and that area reminded me of near where I live. We also went to Manchester, Vermont, which is a wonderful part of the world. Manhattan is pretty much bigger and busier than I ever imagined, and its vicinity to snow resorts, to beaches and other beautiful places has just made me adamant that I want to move there.

I'm currently working as a Desktop Support Engineer for a new media company in London, although my work is involving a lot more server side work than it originally did because the company has grown drastically in the time I've been there.

I've actually moved back to my mum's to save up money and hope to have about £6,000 saved by march 2010.

I know that she is the one and hopefully she will be staying here for 2 weeks during the summer with me flying back with her for a week or two and then she'll be going back to work.

The things we aren't too sure on are work permits and visas, then how the IT job market is in New York. What kind of salaries are being paid for the type of work I currently do and what I plan to do in the future (ideally as an office infrastructure consultant, so planning and deploying server systems for growing and large companies, using the operating systems that are the best fit for the company). What would I need to do about a driving license, getting a social security no. and Health Insurance... I've already found a Rugby team that plays in Brooklyn, so I'm happy about that.

Also, as this isn't until March next year, I don't know what I can do now in order to be there in March.

If anyone's done this, especially moving to America, and have any advice, I am all ears.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[ravenvii]

If you have to move to America, New York is the right place (My opinion, of course )

IT isn't exactly thriving here. Not saying there's no jobs, but there's not much. Especially in this economy. The northeast of the United States is doing slightly better than the most of the country.

No clue on all the immigrant stuff, so I'll let the more enlightened amongst us answer that one.

As for health insurance, you probably know this, but I'm making sure you know; it's not under the government, it's private, and FUBAR. Chances are, you don't "get" health insurance, you get a job, which comes with health benefits. That's how most people here are covered, sadly. It's just too expensive to get insurance yourself most of the time.

 

[Eraserhead]

No clue on all the immigrant stuff, so I'll let the more enlightened amongst us answer that one.

You'll need to investigate. The best place to ask is the US embassy in London - you'll should give them a call.

I'd be very surprised if you didn't need an interview and it may well take a while to get one - if you need one arrange it the maximum time possible in advance. Also expect for it to be expensive and time consuming.

You'll probably also have to get married.

 

[steviem]

Thanks for the info so far, and to be honest, if I wasn't paying National Insurance, or had the chance to not pay it, I would be all over a private healthcare plan. The NHS don't care about you reclaiming the life you had before injury - I had knee surgery and the NHS physio said to me 'take up a sport more sedate, you know, like Rambling or Golf, you shouldn't play rugby anymore.' So I stopped seeing him on that first visit, paying a Sports Physio now and I'm nearly ready for preseason and quicker/more powerful than I was last year.

 

[Eraserhead]

Thanks for the info so far, and to be honest, if I wasn't paying National Insurance, or had the chance to not pay it, I would be all over a private healthcare plan. The NHS don't care about you reclaiming the life you had before injury - I had knee surgery and the NHS physio said to me 'take up a sport more sedate, you know, like Rambling or Golf, you shouldn't play rugby anymore.' So I stopped seeing him on that first visit, paying a Sports Physio now and I'm nearly ready for preseason and quicker/more powerful than I was last year.

I don't want to make this a PRSI thread, but US healthcare isn't exactly rosy. You should take a look at this Economist article for some idea on what its like.

Also, as this isn't until March next year, I don't know what I can do now in order to be there in March.

(EDIT: This is a clarification of the above) Its probably wise to start investigations immediately, and be aware that they may not be ready for March 2010. You may also have to wait before you can do stuff (e.g many countries - I don't know about the US - only give you a tourist visa 90 days in advance.)

 

[Exegesis48]

My wife is British (from Hereford England) and she emigrated for me per se. We are in the military though so it was a bit different than what you'll be dealing with.

Basically there are only two ways to immigrate to the United States. As a Spouse/Fiancé or on a work visa. Getting a work visa can be quite difficult, and I believe you usually have to have the job before you can apply for the visa.

The process is very lengthy and expensive, and not very customer oriented. Just the application process costs money and once you submit your paperwork you won't hear anything for quite some time and there's not really any way to call and check on the status of your application either. It's quite a pain really. I think they do it to keep people from immigrating.

If you have any questions, I will be happy to help.

 

[niuniu]

Immigrating to the US is difficult. My sister moved to LA 5 years ago and it's been nothing but trouble, though she loves it so I guess it's been worth it.

Your age, the type of work you do, the need for the skills you have in that area etc are all relevant to your application. My sis works in media so no doubt her Visa reqs are considerably different to yours, but they'll share those similarities I'd guess.

You need to get a good lawyer to get your work permit visa . Shop around, because there's a lot of crooks out there. My sis has a suit filed by one lawyer against another lawyer for the mishandling of her first application - you don't want to end up in that situation. Money gets thrown around something shocking.

A visa app itself is around 2500 GBP, and on top of that, you'll want to show an offer for employment, so you better get cracking on that as well - though there are lots of agencies that can help you make the move.

That's all a bit disjointed, but if I remeber any useful tidbits from my sister's experience I'll post them up.

------

Other stuff I'd be careful about - my sis initially brought over her boyfriend. Perfect couple nonsense, thought it'd last forever. Turns out quite the contrary and she got stuck with an expensive apartment by herself for a while. You sound in Cloud 9 right now, but it could all go horribly pear shaped, so make sure if you do move, you can absolutely 100% support yourself. You don't want trapped in a relationship because you'll get evicted without her support, and I mean that financially, or even by her supporting you through references or guarantoring for you etc

Anyway, living in NY is well worth the effort, even if you have to struggle for a few years to make it a reality.

---> Also, there's a Green Card lottery that runs. Enter that, you never know, you might win!

 

[Eraserhead]

It could be worth seeing if its easier for her to come to the UK.