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    Thread: English looking for advice on moving to South Florida


    1. #1
      rudderchini

      English looking for advice on moving to South Florida

      Hi, im a 24 yr old english guy looking to move to south florida area. I currently work as a mechanical engineer in England not far outside of London. I have visited Miami, Tampa and orlando on several occasions and have worked in MA just outside of Boston a couple of years ago.

      My girlfriend goes to med school in tampa and her family live in the miami area. This is the area where i am mostly looking to work. If anyone could please point me in the right direction as far as finding work, obtaining visa's and just in general advice about where to start to eventually moving abroad to the miami/tampa area.

      Thanks for any advice given and it will all be fully grateful.

      Thanks

      Lee

    2. Moneycorp - Commercial foreign exchange since 1979
    3. #2
      purple
      Lee,

      Plenty of advice in the "Brits in America" section here. Have a look over it and see if anything strikes you as familiar.

      If she's a US Citizen, and you're thinking of getting married, then look into a K-1 visa to allow you to marry here,
      or a CR-1 to allow you to marry in the UK and then move here after. Nothing will happen overnight, whatever way you do it, but you probably already know that. There are pro's and cons to both visa's.

      If you're not looking to get married yet, and you want to come to live here through work, then you'll need to find a job job that will sponsor you to work and live here. As a pointer, right now is not a good time for that and that won't be such an easy option.
      You probably know that you can't just apply for a visa to work here unless you have the job to come to, and that can't be just any old job, the company you want to work for has to have plenty of reasons why they need to hire you, and they have to apply for the Visa for you.

      If you've done some research, you'll know that construction here in the US is about as flat as it could be at the moment with little sign of movement. Florida is particularly hard hit.
      Also, having 11.5% unemployment in Florida right now, with a majority of that coming from the Construction industry isn't going to help you out much if you're looking for a job in that field, unless you can apply for an intercompany transfer from a a company there?

      You don't say what kind of academic qualifications you have, so it's kind of hard to give you much more info, but have a look through the site anyway, there's a bunch of information in this section.

      What steps did you take to work in MA when you were there? That should give you some pointers as to what you need to do for a start. Also, you could ask your girlfriend if she was able to do some research locally for you to see what's about.

      www.Careerbuilder.com and www.monster.com - job websites which might give you an idea of what's out there.

      http:/travel.state.gov/visa/visa_1750.html - visa section of the US State Dept. website.

      Post again if feel like asking for more info or want to share additional information.
      I'm sure you'll get a few more hits on this message and maybe someone else will give you more pointers.

    4. #3
      barryheron
      Hi, Lee. Sad to say I am like so many Brits who tried to abide by the immigration rules and have lost a fortune over the yaers of trying to stay here. I have employed lawyers and advisors who just rip you off.
      Really its quite simple as long as you avoid the mistakes that so many of us have fallen foul of.
      I have just yesterday been granted a work permit after almost 10 long hard years of mistakes.
      I am happy to share my insights with you if you wish to e-mail me direct.
      Good luck, Barry

    5. #4

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      Aldo is a Dil
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      thearmchairdetective is on a distinguished road
      Hi Barry, welcome to the forum.
      I would love for you to write about your exploits and post it here.
      Maybe admin might have to edit anything that the suits would sue for but I bet it would still be a good read.

    6. #5
      purple
      Yes, welcome to the forum Barry.
      Feel free to post some of your experiences if you feel comfortable doing so, we would all be pleased to hear them. As a Florida resident I have something in common with you.

      T, I don't see me editing much out of it unless he posts anything obscene. ;)
      I've heard some horror stories about immigration over here, one of my work colleagues had a nightmare with them that took a bunch of money to sort out.

    7. #6
      Florida Redhead
      I'm guessing Barry has in the past encountered a common problem....
      a British or other "professional" who has all the answers and can help you get a Visa.....yeah, right!
      I can't count the number of times I've heard "but he was British, we trusted him".
      There are so many bogus "agents" and immigration "experts".
      As soon as they put one in jail or deport him, up pops another.
      Of course, scammers can be any Nationality.

      There are several British Clubs and Orgs whose members might share their experiences and advice.

      http://www.ujnews.com/event-calendar...organisations/
      http://www.britishflorida.com/index....ociations.html

      My advice about working in Florida, especially around Miami....learn Spanish!

      I lived in Spain for 6 years and my Spanish has come in really useful.
      I am self-employed and get a lot more work because I'm bi-lingual.
      Mind you, I had to learn Puerto-Rican Spanish and Cuban Spanish,
      which are a bit different from Castillano!
      Last edited by Florida Redhead; 17-03-2011 at 09:28 AM.

    8. #7

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      Ktee is on a distinguished road
      Florida Redhead, do migration agents have to be registered or is it a free for all?

    9. #8
      Florida Redhead
      Quote Originally Posted by Ktee View Post
      Florida Redhead, do migration agents have to be registered or is it a free for all?
      It depends on the State, and what the agent/ advisor / consultant claims to do.
      If they try to pass themselves off as a lawyer, they're in trouble.

      Here is an informative booklet from Virginia:
      http://www.vsb.org/ImmigrationFraud/ImmFrd-bro-Eng.pdf

      I know there are many companies with fancy names who give the impression they can get you a visa, or a permanent resident card ("green card"), especially here in FL.
      They use the US flag on their website, and try to look like a Government-approved organisation.
      People pay them big bucks for information they could get just by contacting USCIS.
      I can understand why some people don't want to draw the attention of USCIS, but I've seen some families who had to return to the UK broke and disappointed because they were victims of fraud.
      If you plan to use an Immigration Attorney, check their license and see if they have any complaints against them.
      This also applies to Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, Builders, Notaries.
      Their licenses are all public record....check them out.
      Each licensed profession has it's regulatory body where you can check licenses.
      http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/MESearchDK?OpenForm
      http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/
      http://www.flofr.com/Finance/index.htm
      http://notaries.dos.state.fl.us/not001.html

      Another way to find out if they are licensed....ask them.
      If they are not, it means you have no redress if it all goes belly up, so walk away.

      Ktee likes this.

    10. #9

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      Ktee is on a distinguished road
      Thanks again for a great post.

    11. #10
      Paulx
      Hi everybody.
      I went through a process with a company in the UK to get a US work permit and business visa and I am happy to report the process went very smoothly with these people; they are indeed the real deal. They offered a package that I paid one some of money and I got a business of my own and a lawyer to deal with my application personally, it was very streamlined and professional. If anybody would like any recommendation or referral pm me, I am happy to spread the word.
      Paul

     

     
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