How to secure a work visa

[daredtomove 0]

Hello everyone. I am new to VisaJourney and I am having such a difficult time navigating through all of this online information regarding visas! Here is the situation: my boyfriend is from the UK and he and I have been dating for two years. We met in the U.S. through a mutual friend who is also from the UK and married to a friend of mine. We have been dating long distance, visiting over winter and summer breaks. I even stayed in the UK for four months. Basically we have plenty of evidence that we are in a serious relationship. We have talked about him moving to the states to end this long distance nonsense, but neither of us can figure out the best way to go about this. We don't particularly want to go with a fiance visa, because we are not financially stable enough yet, though we do want to get married in a year or two. He has had some trouble with his studies and needs to decide if he wants to keep taking classes while he's there or just look for work. Most work programs I've researched require that candidates be in their third year of university, so this does not suit. Any suggestions? Companies to contact? Websites that are helpful and easy to understand? Any advice is welcomed!

Thanks,

daredtomove

Edited September 26, 2011 by daredtomove

[Little_My 464]

What field does he work in and what degree does he have?

Work visas are tough to come by. Not impossible, but tough.. His chances of getting one will depend largely on his field of work. And then he would have to find an employer in that field willing to hire him and sponsor a visa for him.

[daredtomove 0]

He is studying product design and is still in his undergraduate (or their equivalent) courses. He suggested studying in the states, though I foresee that as being rather expensive compared to his UK tuition. He found some company called USIT (is anyone familiar with this?) that places Irish part-time students with work placement for up to a year in the states, and he does have the option of securing an Irish passport. I almost feel like the most painless route is to stick out the long distance until we're able to get married, because fiance visas seem a lot less troublesome than work, but I don't prefer this option.

[Harsh_77 716]

To secure a work visa, he would need to show he has some extraordinary skills.

Without a degree and real experience it would be difficult for him to secure a work visa, from what you have described the best option for him would be to finish is degree.

You are right he expressed to study in US, which is going to be much more expensive compared to UK and to secure a student visa he will have to show he has enough funds to cover for the classes and living expenses.

[Boiler 43,597]

Simplistically he would need first an employer willing to sponsor him and a visa category to fit into.

What he has to offer that would cause a US Employer to go to all that time and expenses?

Have you thought of moving?

[SapphireDreams 71]

I was in the same situation earlier on in my relationship. We weren't financially stable enough for the K1 visa, and also kind of young, but wanted to be together. I wasn't really eligible for any work visas, plus wanted to do a year of grad school and thought it might be smarter to start working in Canada and have some experience before I moved. So, like you mentioned, we waited it out and dated long distance. Was it easy? No. Did it make the most sense financially? Absolutely. We both saved money, established ourselves and visited back and forth whenever we could. This was even before video chat and all the amazing technology available now. We dated long distance for 6 years. I've been in the US for over 2 years now and things have worked out perfectly both on the job front and financially.

Sometimes being patient is the best course of action.

Just my two cents. Good luck!