Which is the best route to go for - please adivce?

[francesca]

Hi there,

First of all, thank you in taking the time to read my enquiry.

My husband and I have recently decided that we'd like to move to the U.S. We both hold British passports, although he's originally Irish and I'm Israeli, so we can both obtain different passports if it is easier to apply for a U.S visa with either one of them.

Whilst I am well aware to the different types of visas, it seems as though we both have little chance to qualify for any of them.

My husband has an MA with distinction, gained from two top universities in England, and is a Political Researcher, but I am wondering if its enough to qualify as a highly skilled worker or for a visa obtained to people with exceptional talent?

I, on the other hand, work in Business management and have academic qualifications which are not a formal undergraduate degree, but I am now studying for my first degree in the open university and could probably transfer my studies to the U.S.

What I am trying to ask here, is:-
1. Is there any chance that my husband will qualify as a highly skilled worker? and also:
2. Is it smart to apply for two different visa's at the same time? The procedure must be different and we may not be able to obtain our visa's at the same time, and three:
3. Is it really useless to apply for visa's using the Green Card Lottery route? and if we disqualify via this route, is it going to effect our chances when applying to other visa's for the U.S?

Many thanks!

- Francesca

[Marco 72]

Hi, you can have a look here to see what options are available to you in detail. First of all, if you decide to go via the employment (H1B) route, you don't apply for a visa: your employer petions for you. However, given the current recession it's going to be hard to convince a US employer to pay $5000 to petition for someone who won't be able to start work for several months, while they can hire one of the many unemployed Americans. Does your husband work for a multinational company with offices in the US? In that case he could qualify for an L1 company transfer visa. Another possibility would be for your husband to get a PhD in the UK, then apply for a position at a US university. However, keep in mind that if your husband gets an H1B (as opposed to L1) visa, you won't be able to work in the US unless you get a separate visa on your own. Spouses of H1B visa holders can study without a visa, however.

About the green card (Diversity Visa) lottery, people do win it from time to time (one of my friends got her green card that way about ten years ago). Remember that eligibility for the DV lottery depends on birthplace rather than citizenship, and people born in the UK (with the exception of northern Ireland) are generally not eligible. However, for married couples if one of you is eligible both of you can apply.

It doesn't really matter what passports you use. Beginning this year, Irish citizens in full time education can qualify for a 12 month work visa, but it doesn't sound like this applies to your husband.

Finally, having multiple visa petitions in the works is not generally a problem, and neither is taking part in the DV lottery at the same time.

[francesca]

Hi Marco,

Many thanks for the thorough explanation. After detailed examination, it doesn't look like we'd be able to qualify at all.

I was wondering whether it is a common practice for the applicants to offer the potential employer to cover some or all of the $5,000 petition fee themselves?

Unfortunately, my husband works for a strictly UK-based Company, and so do I.