Emigrating - how soon?

Have you tried asking on the British expats forum? https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/

Hi

We moved to Singapore at a very leisurely pace..... 2 months. I worked a month's notice and then spent a month sorting out the house but to be honest could have done it much quicker as we didn't need that long to sort the house (my FIL passed away during the last month too so there was lots of other stuff to cope with and even with that, it was pretty leisurely!).

We moved on 30th May but contacted letting agents and packers 6 weeks beforehand. We have just let our property in the UK. We had a huge amount of clearing out to do so spent a while hiring skips and a storage container back home, contacted HMRC for tax purposes, forwarded post, sorted landlord's insurance, found a school for Charlotte etc. I assume that you would enter the US on a tourist visa (you may require a return flight to be booked in order to enter the US - this is the case with Singapore) and then apply for residency etc when you are there. Assume that your cats would follow and spend time in a cattery while you search for your home? It's pretty standard to spend time in service accommodation or a hotel while you are searching. To be honest it's dragging now we are here - we have accommodation but it won't be ready until mid July - this is when our ocean freight should arrive.

I would find out about your cats first - it's less of an issue taking them from the UK to the US than the other way round, but it's likely to involve some pretty last minute paperwork and vets bills and you may find accommodation more difficult to get because of them. Our cat went to live with my dad in the UK as Singapore would have been too hot for such an old cat, I don't think she would have coped well with the flight and most landlords out here will not let to families with pets (except caged birds and very small mammals).

I think this is a great opportunity. Get a notebook and make a list of things you need to do, then start calling round and find out how long it's going to take to pack / ship / rent your property / prepare and transport your cats etc etc.

I can't remember where you are relocating to in the US but if it's Houston, this is a good book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Relocating-Houston-Surrounding-Areas-Everything/dp/0761525653/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213621969&sr=8-2. This is another god book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moving-Abroad-Which-Essential-Guides/dp/184490055X/ref=pd_sbs_b?ie=UTF8&qid=1213622056&sr=1-31

Good luck!

Only have a few mins as I need to go out, but in reply to your question - it depends on how much the company do for you and what you need to do at home.

We had a couple of months too (although Mr P found out at 11 pm on the 12th Feb, and his job officially started on the 1st March!), but it was anything but leisurely in our case! Even without a child (how on earth did you do it Hitched in Paris?!) it was a struggle!

There was a huge amount for me to sort out while I was still in the UK which was tough, as Mr P was here most of the time, and I was trying to juggle 100 balls in the air all at once. Mind you, it all came together in the end.

I can give you recommendations for various things .. just let me know what you need help with. Where in the States?

As for visas - your H I take it will be on an L1, and if you want to work you'll need an L2.

Must dash .. let me know what you need and I'll try and help

We accepted the job offer in November (I think) and moved the following March and that was taking it at a fairly leisurely pace - we could have moved sooner, but didn't want to move in the depths of winter (I think H was worried I'd hate it on sight and want to go back home straight away)

I think the visa will be the thing that will most dictate how long it takes you and, even though it wasn't that long ago, I can't remember from start to finish, exactly how long it took us. I have a feeling that H's company were a bit slow to get things started.

Have you settled on a location yet?! If so, can you get the company to fly your over for a recon visit to start to look at areas to live in etc?

Talk to Peaches about moving your cats as I know she brought her cat over to the US.

Platty I'm scared of other forums ? Can't actually post on there atm as cant remember my password. Will try later.

I know no more than I did last week apart from the fact they want him to start in 3 months. Considering we dont even know where I'm a little scared. Have investigated the cats thing which is quite easy to do. I've requested a meeting next week with Mr G's manager and CEO (its a small company) to go through details. tbh I think it'll be a case of me asking questions and they'll have to go away and investigate.

I plan on demanding a recon visit CJJ. If I see folk going to Walmart with guns i'm not going!

<p> I'm no help re renting your place out or moving cats I'm afraid. Our move was proposed in Mid June and we got here on October 1 and H's company moves lots of poeple so had a blanket L1 application. </P>

<p> Assuming you're on a spouses visa then L2 is the only one i know of that lets you work and then you need to apply for employment authorisation (EAD) once you get hrere. Took a couple of months for mine to come though. </p>

With regard to what Hitched In Paris said, it is actually illegal to enter the US on a tourist visa if you plan to stay. You will have to get visas sorted before you go.

My H1B visa took about 3 months to do in all, if I recall correctly. But I was in the country on another visa and "adjusted" so that might have made a difference.

Your H's company need to set out a specific plan of what will happen and when. They need to outline what they will pay for (a trip ahead of time for you to check stuff out and look at rentals? Temporary accomodation when you first arrive? Flights back to the UK every year for the duration of your stay? Them to stump up the cash for the security deposit and commission for your rental over here (sec. deposit is usually 1.5 month's rent, commission is another month, so it adds up quickly).) Did they even decide where the office will be yet??

If they need the services of a relocation agent, let me know and I can hook them up with someone from the North Carolina (or wherever) branch of my company.

Good luck.

Stelly.

I didn't see hitched in Paris' post when I first replied but Stelly is right - you get your visa then move here a tourist visa does not let you live here. You can move from one vias class to another (although most commonly this involves moving from say a student to a work visa you can't just change as you feel like it) or get a green card (permenant residency) once you are here. How long a green card takes depends on your visa class.

Also be aware that you can't move here permanently on a visa. They are all temporary permits to stay with a fixed duration although they are generaly renewable. We were told not to mention any plans to stay beyond the initial 3 years our visa gave us when we went for our consular interview. When we bought our house, a condition of the mortgage was that we have green cards which surprised me.

You will also need to consider if you're going to be renting a place out here that is furnished or unfurnished (and the same with your house in the UK, I don't know if it makes a difference in your area/size of house as to whether unfurnished or furnished will be easier to rent out). You might want to negotiate some sort of allowance for the replacement of your electrical items that won't work over here (at least not without transformers).

Depending on how long you're going to be in the US for, you'll need a car. We had a rental car provided for two months when we first got out and then sorted out our own cars.

Will your H be paid in dollars or will he still be paid in sterling and paid into your bank a/c in the UK? Or will you need to open a bank a/c over here?

If you're going to be out here for a while and want to ship belongings over, you need to factor this into your timings (we shipped by sea and it took about 8 weeks, I think). Also make sure that his company will cover these expenses.

And I assume that the company will cover all expenses related to the visas? You will also need to take a trip to the US Embassy in London for your visa application. I would ask that they also agree to cover future visa/green card related expenses should you decide to stay (H's company is doing this for us at the minute).

If I think of anything more, I'll let you know. Things are slowly coming back to me now from when we moved!

I was offered the job Feb 17. Moved out there April 16. They bsically told me in Feb to me ready to move when the visa came through. Visa took about 5 weeks, I had 3 weeks to pack up my flat.

Couldn't do it these days, but then I had a lot less less going on!

Gingey, do you know where you're going yet? We're moving in Jan, so going through pretty much the same things as you.

My husband's company is paying / sorting everything visa related. As it is a job transfer and a Management position, he gets an L1 Visa. That means I'll get an L2, and once we're there, I can send off for the EAD, and hopefully(!) find a job.

They're paying for 3 months in a furnished apartment when we get there, and for a rental car for 3 months. This is a taxable benefit though. They are also paying for a container, which means we can take a ridiculous amount of stuff. They are also paying for an extra pallet so my husbands Vinyl gets special treatment ?

The British Expats forum is fine, we've both posted questions over there. There are so many questions, abbreviations and legalese ?

I can also recommend the newcomer's guide series, if it covers wherever it is you're going.?

eta, they've also given us a budget towards costs incurred in selling our house.

Sorry Gingey Wife - I stand corrected on the visa. The 8 countries we have lived in have all required residency applications to be filed once we arrived. It's proabably logical that the US would be different!!! Actually my last job in the UK involved advising students on J1 visa applications for the US so I should have thought before typing!!

Our visas took 2 weeks to come through, but that was because Mr P was a 'special' case and it was all rushed through. We had to queue up outside the American Embassy for about 2/3 hours early in the morning, but once we were inside it was all pretty quick.

As for our cat - we flew him with Airpets. Fantastic service from start to finish. Mind you, it wasn't cheap. As Mr P exclaimed at the time 'HOW much? We could get 100 cats for that price' ?? It's funny now, but at the time I wasn't amused!

When we first came here we were in temporary accommodation for 6 weeks. The apartment was fine - 2 bedroom, light, airy and spacious, but it was a 'prison' for me. I knew no-one, didn't know where anything was, didn't have any belongings (our container took 8, or was it 10? weeks to arrive) and was left to my own devices all day, every day. It was a lonely time. But thankfully we took our computer by air shipment, so that arrived soon after us. And our cat arrived 2 days later too, so that kept me sane.

Advice would be to not do that. Stay with family in the UK and fly out later. Mind you, it might have been worse on reflection - especially with my family being like they are!

Thanks all. You've given me lots to think about and questions to ask.

We still dont know where it would be, probably N Carolina but not 100% yet. I'm going to stand firm on lots because although MrG is laidback I cant bear not being in control or just generally not knowing things.

<sniffle>

You're moving? Yay, but boooo for selfish reasons on my part!

If you end up on the East Coast (or thereabouts) I'm coming to stalk visit you. Particularly if you end up in New England, Connetticut, NY, NJ or North/South Carolina.

If you need any specifics on house rental etc in the states, I can bend my brother's ear for you. He's near Boston.