1. #1

    Immigration questions USA

    Hello! I am planning to live in USA, I am currently living in GB (I Do not have GB passport) however I do have EU passport. I tried to find some answers in internet, some of my questions have been solved, with some of them I need more help.

    1. I know there are a lot of ways to live/work in USA legally. I do not have Visa (I'll be applying for it soon) Any suggestions what should I say to those people? Should I just say to them that I want to live/work there? I also heard that when I apply for some job e.g Tesco jobs in USA (online), then ill have to buy ticket to USA and in airport say that I am going for interview. Do you think this will work?

    2. What places would you recommend? I want to live in decent population town, sunny all year and nice community (its very important) that people will be nice and tolerate immigrants, low criminal. Florida/Portland,Oregon?

    I need good answer for 1st question because it's most important

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Legendary! Collegeguy's Avatar
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    1. I would imagine the best first impression would be to tell them how you want to be long-term and stay in the United States. Put strong emphasis on it. Your educational background and achievements would be a plus.


    2. With the information you provided, I would recommend the northern U.S. where there are more careers. Just look at a night time satellite photo of the United States and it makes it clear where you want to live to find work. I can't tell you much more than that if you don't provide the major or career.

  3. #3
    For a place to live, I'd think about Washington, DC. The crime statistics are misleading because it's neighborhood specific and there's many safe places. The community is very international, the food is quite good. People aren't the friendliest, to be honest, but you'll be able to make enough friends.

    Another great option (although more obscure) is Madison, Wisconsin. It's the state capital and has quite a few immigrants, and is just about the friendliest place on Earth. The cost of living is low and the opportunities are plentiful.

  4. #4
    cant help with #1, sorry. good luck though.

    as for #2, you DID say sunny, so portland oregon is a bad idea. most of western oregon is rain on top of rain on top of.....well, it'll be just as bit as rainy as ive heard the U.K. can be.

    not that oregon isnt beautiful, IT IS, but sunny it aint. not compared to other places. florida, ya its sunny (until a hurricane comes to town, heh), but its also humid beyond all reckoning during the summer. i would visit florida in august before moving there. if you can handle august, you might be an amphibious type creature.

    sunny places: colorado. boulder, denver, colo springs. it does snow like a sun of a gun in some parts, but its sunny as all heck. the more densely populated areas are politically moderate to liberal, but if you want some more conservative thought, just move beyond the suburbs and you'll find a legion of fox news zealots out there. the rocky mountains are amazing if you like out doorsey stuff, and denver is a big enough area so its got plenty of diverse culture, and wont get stuck in hickville......unless like i said before you want to find hickville, which is just over the hill...

    las vegas. dry high desert. sun, sun and more sun. economy is kinda jacked round there at the moment, so g/l with a job there, but housing is cheap cheap cheap. dunno if you wanna live in a tourist town, that can get old fast. but you DID say sunny......

    southern california. its high population with a capital P. good thing about california, is that there is so much diversity (people wise) that you, as a brit could spend yer whole life there and never once have anyone pay any notice about it (other than the occasional "love the accent" comment). do a little research on the town you move to in so cal to make sure yer not moving to a "bad area" and you'll be fine as far as the crime goes. good rule of thumb is "are there bars on the windows"? if so, RUN AWAY FAST. heh. otherwise yer in pretty good shape. down side is that the place is crowded. really crowded. unless you LOVE to drive so cal may not be for you, as the place was designed to not just be car friendly, but its down right public transportation UNFRIENDLY.

    san francisco bay area. as long as you dont live in san francisco or "the peninsula" part of the bay area, you'll have plenty of sun. diversity, liberal politics, all kinds of culture, lots of jobs blah blah blah. down side, very crowded and expensive as all get out.

    as far as the "friendly" part goes, move to texas. they may be a tad backwards and some what over the top in the redneck division, but texans are the nicest, most welcoming people ive ever met......anywhere.......im white, straight, and male...so maybe that has something to do with it, but its was almost creepy how nice texans are. i hear houston is a nice place to live, and the austin area is less redneck-ish than the rest of texas.

    most americans in high pop areas will accept you right on the spot no questions asked. if yer white, straight, and male, and keep yer politics and religion to yourself, you can live anywhere in the U.S. and be instantly accepted. brits are more or less liked/loved in the U.S., so i wouldnt worry to much about all that.

    now.....if you were french......well that would be a different story! .

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Spectral View Post
    For a place to live, I'd think about Washington, DC. The crime statistics are misleading because it's neighborhood specific and there's many safe places. The community is very international, the food is quite good. People aren't the friendliest, to be honest, but you'll be able to make enough friends.

    Another great option (although more obscure) is Madison, Wisconsin. It's the state capital and has quite a few immigrants, and is just about the friendliest place on Earth. The cost of living is low and the opportunities are plentiful.
    He said sunny all year. It snows for like half the year here, and if it's not snowing, it's wayyyy too cold here in Wisconsin, so...
    Quote Originally Posted by kasath
    is anyone in this group under 18? my parole officer says I'm not allowed to play wow with anyone under 18

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Pfeff View Post
    He said sunny all year. It snows for like half the year here, and if it's not snowing, it's wayyyy too cold here in Wisconsin, so...
    He said sunny, not warm. Maybe I'm misinterpreting though. Wisconsin really isn't very snowy at all, but to each their own.

    Unfortunately, most of the places that are warm all year are awful cities.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Spectral View Post
    He said sunny, not warm. Maybe I'm misinterpreting though. Wisconsin really isn't very snowy at all, but to each their own.

    Unfortunately, most of the places that are warm all year are awful cities.
    to each their own, im not a fan of wisconsin myself...maybe yer more of a "small town" type, and bigger cities dont do it for ya. that doesnt make em "awful", just makes em not yer bag. los angeles and so cal in general can be pretty kickass if you know where to live, and can handle the traffic.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Spectral View Post
    He said sunny, not warm. Maybe I'm misinterpreting though. Wisconsin really isn't very snowy at all, but to each their own.

    Unfortunately, most of the places that are warm all year are awful cities.
    Lol, not snowy at all!? I've lived here for 27 years, and I can promise you that with the exception of last year...it definitely snows a LOT
    Quote Originally Posted by kasath
    is anyone in this group under 18? my parole officer says I'm not allowed to play wow with anyone under 18

  9. #9
    Titan Kalyyn's Avatar
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    If you can find work in one, I'd recommend a small town. The people are usually nicer. They might find you strange at first because you're foreign, but they'll still be very friendly.

  10. #10
    The Patient
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lefthandpath View Post

    san francisco bay area. as long as you dont live in san francisco or "the peninsula" part of the bay area, you'll have plenty of sun. diversity, liberal politics, all kinds of culture, lots of jobs blah blah blah. down side, very crowded and expensive as all get out.
    We get a decent amount of sun :P Sometimes it's like 80 degrees in November and I don't really remember the last time it rained a lot other than last weekend. Other than that, it can be foggy a lot. People are generally pretty nice around here, but there are certain parts of the city that you would never want to go to. It's very expensive to live in the city. A lot of people who work in the city live across the East Bay, in Oakland or other parts because it's cheaper. I would not consider living in Oakland at all, just read the news for Oakland and you'll see why.

  11. #11
    Deleted
    Question: How do you get Visa? (I'm from EU)
    I would like to work in US, just for 2-3 months (mainly to explore US). But I'm not a student anymore.

  12. #12
    Deleted
    I am not from the USA, but I know a guy that moved there from GB that is currently serving in the US army.

    You need 1 of 4 things in order to get a permanent work visa.
    1, An Education. Do you have qualifications that will be useful to the economy or something the USA is currently in need of? Examples would be Doctors, Nurses, plumbers etc...
    2, Are you wealthy? If you can prove you are financially wealthy and will not prove to be a burden to the Government, they will let you in. I am talking about $1million plus here.
    3, Marry a yank bird.
    4, Have American relatives that will vouch for you, support you financially and sponsor you.

  13. #13
    Deleted
    The standard method of entry to the US is with a Green Card. Green Cards can be obtained in several ways, through your employer, through family connections, through a lottery, and through various special circumstances.

    The lottery is probably the easiest method, and it is available to anybody as long as you are NOT from one of the following countries:

    CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, POLAND, RUSSIA, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM.

    The other method is through your employer, however you have to fall into certain categories:

    i) EB1: employee with extraordinary ability in the science, arts, education, business or athletics, professors, researchers and Ph.D. holders etc. falls under this category.
    It also includes people working in US as managers and executives on international transfer basis (Company transfer L1 holder)

    (ii) EB2: This includes employee with extra ability in the field of science, arts or business, and advanced degree professionals (PG. degree holder).

    (iii) EB3: This includes professionals with Bachelor/ Graduate degree, and other skilled workers.

    You're not going to get into America by applying to a cashier job in Tesco. If you're managing, maybe, but there is a severely limited number of jobs and skills which are eligible.

  14. #14
    Deleted
    Lol ok :s I just wanted to have fun/explore and work just enough to get money for plane tickets.
    So, no other options for people, who don't want to stay in the US permanently?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blapis View Post
    Lol ok :s I just wanted to have fun/explore and work just enough to get money for plane tickets.
    So, no other options for people, who don't want to stay in the US permanently?
    Save some money back in blighty, then just go to the US on a tourist Visa. Wages are higher in the UK anyway, so it will be more beneficial to do it this way.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Demologize View Post
    Hello! I am planning to live in USA, I am currently living in GB (I Do not have GB passport) however I do have EU passport. I tried to find some answers in internet, some of my questions have been solved, with some of them I need more help.

    1. I know there are a lot of ways to live/work in USA legally. I do not have Visa (I'll be applying for it soon) Any suggestions what should I say to those people? Should I just say to them that I want to live/work there? I also heard that when I apply for some job e.g Tesco jobs in USA (online), then ill have to buy ticket to USA and in airport say that I am going for interview. Do you think this will work?

    2. What places would you recommend? I want to live in decent population town, sunny all year and nice community (its very important) that people will be nice and tolerate immigrants, low criminal. Florida/Portland,Oregon?

    I need good answer for 1st question because it's most important

    Thanks.
    Almost certain they work on a priority system for visas and they have a set amount allocated per category and per country.

    Unless you're going to do a professional job, have a degree etc, I wouldn't bother wasting your time.

    You will need your company to sponsor you, which unless it is a professional job, they most likely won't. Even if it a professional job, you may still struggle to convince them.

    Unless you're a minority from some shitty war torn country, it's hard.

  17. #17
    Scarab Lord Arkenaw's Avatar
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    I dunno about anything else, but if you want sunny: San Antonio, Texas. We get rain about one to two times a month here and never more than a few inches.


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