Want to move to the United States?

Question

Hi , i'v posted this question before but i didn't get a proper answer so i will ask again.... I want to move to the United States im 16 years old i have been thinking about it now for 1 year i know its a big step for me but people are saying you cant move till your 18 years old , but what if i had my consent of my family?

Thanks

Answer 1

You seem very naive about this whole idea of moving to the US. Let me lay it all out in front of you as best I can.

- As a UK citizen with a UK passport, you are allowed to stay in the US for up to 90 days without a visa. You cannot work during that 90-day stay, and if you overstay, it will be noticed and you will be barred from re-entering the US for up to 10 years; you would then need to apply for a visa whenever you wanted to go to the US. In other words: stay less than 3 months and don't try working. Since you're 16 you are allowed to travel by yourself although you might need a note from your parents saying you're allowed to travel.

- Meeting celebrities in the US is the same sort of lucky strike as anywhere else in the world. How likely are you to meet David Beckham on the street? Not very. It could happen. But it's not very likely. It's the same in the US. So you might see crazy Britney shopping around or shaving her head or beating up paparazzi with her umbrella... or you might not. Other than that, there are backstage passes to concerts just like there are in the UK, so if you can get your hands on that, then that's your key to meeting a celebrity if you're that adamant about making that happen...

- Beverly Hills is ridiculously expensive, I wouldn't expect to be able to live there or even stay near there for a vacation unless you're rich.

- Working in the USA, which you pretty much will have to do if you intend on living here, requires having a work visa. Those are hard to obtain, no matter what kind of visa you try going with. H-1B visas are allocated on a per-year quota basis and priority is given to highly educated, highly skilled people (Master's degree and up) who are filling a position that could not be filled by a US citizen. You need to be sponsored by a US employer in order to get such a visa.

Green cards, a.k.a. permanent resident cards (which also allow you to work) can also be given out in a variety of ways, none of which is particularly easy. The most common way is through marriage to a US citizen. You can marry in the US if you are under the age of 18 but you need parental consent. Different states have different laws when it comes to that.

- As a minor, your right to work is limited by the individual states. Generally the minimum age is 14 to 16 on average, but once again individual states can have laws imposing restrictions on minors working, and some types of labors can be completely prohibited until you are 18+, such as dangerous or potentially dangerous jobs.

Here's my suggestion to you: finish high school or whatever it's called in the UK (whatever comes last before university). Then apply with an American college or university and come study here. Then when you're done with that, seek employment in the US.

It's all well and good that you dislike the UK but think about it: what kind of job can you get at age 16 with barely any education in the UK? Ask yourself that, then consider this: it's the same in the US. If you immigrated to the US, you'd be stuck working awful jobs with awful pay, and trust me, you won't be living anywhere near Beverly Hills. And that is assuming anyone will hire you. Like I said, H-1B visas require employer sponsorship and employers have to show the position cannot be filled by US workforce. It follows from that that you are not going to get an H-1B for supermarket work or flipping burgers, and I'm sorry to say that that is all you really are qualified for at this point. So no one is going to hire you. I'm aware I don't know you personally but unless you have some exceptional skill I'm not aware of then that is the truth.

Now you're left with just one option if you're dead set on immigrating permanently to the US, and that is marriage. Please don't get married at age 16 or even 18 because you will regret it, and likewise please don't cheat some poor girl into marrying you for the sole purpose of immigrating, as that will not only break her heart if you don't warn her, and will definitely get you in a LOT of trouble with US law enforcement.

And of course you can tag along with your brother but the fact that he is 18 changes nothing, and everything I just said above applies to you in the exact same way.

To summarize, feel free to visit the US for up to 90 days. The dollar is weak right now so UK currency will get you more dollars (about $2 to £1), so you could stay longer, or afford to be more spendy.

Beyond that, my recommendation for you is to finish your education in the UK, and if you must, come get your university degree at a US college or university.

Not only will that give you a good education (which of course the UK can also provide), it will also let you sample the American lifestyle with no strings attached (holders of student visas must return to their home country upon completion of their studies). That will no doubt dispel any illusions you may have about the US, which is no longer the great Eldorado it used to be. And most importantly, life in the US is not like in the movies.

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Edit: yes, like I said, you can get a passport, enter the US with your passport, and you can stay up to 90 days.

You can stay at any place you choose. If you know someone in the US, you could stay at their place. If you don't know anybody, I guess you'll need a hotel, or a motel, or a youth hostel. Youth hostels go from $20 to $30 per night on average and they're usually located conveniently near the center of cities. Or you can pick a cozy spot on a bench in a park or under a bridge if you're feeling lucky.

On Britney Spears, honestly I'd say you can forget about it. There's 300 million people in the US, 35+ in California alone. I think you have better odds of winning the lottery than happening upon a specific person during your short stay in the US. On the other hand it's not hard to figure out where Britney Spears lives if you're the stalker/paparazzi type. So technically you could go there, hang out with the vultures waiting for Britney to drive out to get a picture of her, and you could catch a glimpse of her... but like I said, you can forget about meeting her in person.

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Edit: Here's how to find out where Britney Spears lives:

1) Go to http://maps.google.com/

2) Type "britney spears house" in the search field at the top, then just press Enter

3) Click on the blue link marked with an A on the left that says "Britney Spears' House"

She lives on the famous Mulholland Drive. This is serious by the way, that's where she lives. Chances are you won't even get to the door itself though, as the whole property is fenced and gated. You can always ask for an audience, t he worst that can happen is they say no or flat out ignore you.

Remember Google Maps, it's a very, very powerful tool.

And $3000 is not bad for a month in the US if you're careful how you spend your money. And by $3000 I mean $3000 on top of your plane ticket.

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No, the plane ticket is not $3000. What I'm saying is that you should have money for your plane ticket, and then $3000 on top of that. So like if the plane ticket is $1000, you'll need $4000 total. I don't know how much your plane ticket might be from London to LA but I would expect anywhere between $1000 and $2000. You might be able to get a cheaper deal through a travel agent.

And Britney Spears lives in Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is an area of Los Angeles. Technically she lives in the hills overlooking Beverly Hills but that's Beverly Hills.

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You must be 18 to buy cigarettes in the US, even 19 in some states. Smoking is commonly banned from public places although that depend on the city.

The drinking age is 21 throughout the country. That includes anything that contains alcohol, there's no distinction between beer and vodka.

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You're thinking too far ahead here (on smoking/drinking).

Like I said, you can't buy cigarettes or alcohol if you're under 18 or 21, respectively.

Furthermore, you're not supposed to possess any of them, so you should not pack any in your luggage to get around the law that says you can't buy any within the US. And you shouldn't risk getting caught doing anything you shouldn't be doing in the US while you're visiting as a tourist.

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I can't tell you what will happen if you hang out by Britney Spears' house... chances are you'll be sitting on a sidewalk waiting for something to happen, which may never happen.

$2000 including airfare sounds a little bit on the low side. Reason being the airfare for a 2-week stay at the end of August of this year would cost you about £750 which is about $1500 which leaves you with $500 to live on for 2 weeks. Not enough, especially in California. Not great either even for just a week. Aim for $1000 for the week + airfare and you should be fine. $25 a day for lodging, another $25 a day for food/drinks, $20-$30 for the week for public transportation, plus various expenditures you could be doing (shopping, sightseeing, etc.)

Take a look at http://wikitravel.org/en/Los_Angeles - at this point your question has more to do with travel and tourism than immigration.

Answer 2

I would say don't move just improve where ever you are.

Answer 3

You cannot move to the US by yourself until you're an adult.  Period.

If you're under 18, you'd have to have a relative here and have your parents consent to give that person legal guardianship until you're 18.

Answer 4

You are too young to migrate on your own to the US.

Maybe you should try vacationing in the US before making a huge decision to move there. How will you survive? You cannot work without proper documentation from immigration.

And my advice to you would be to NOT consider marriage fraud. You will only dig a hole for yourself and will most likely be banned from entering the US in the future. I would throw that idea out the window fast!!!

Think about this carefully and discuss options with your parents and family. Why don't you try coming on an F-1 visa and study while living in the US? By then you should know if you really plan to work and migrate.

So what I'm saying is, you should really think about this carefully. Please stop watching those fancy Hollywood films you see on TV. It's pure fiction...They are meant to over exaggerate these exuberant lifestyles that people live.

The reality is, you have to work for what you want.

Really think about this. You're only 16 now so you may change your mind in a few years!!

Answer 5

it doesn't matter if you had family consent at 16. If you walk into different country you must follow their law and one is first be 18 second, have family with you and third, already had family over here that's a citizen and over 18. I must say, over here is a lot of work to survive if you dont have any support its hard for beginner, almost nearly impossible. Even if you're here, everything you apply for is mostly at least 18 sometime is 21.  So the thing is you cant come here by yourself, its hard.

under 18 its parents choice for marriage..after 18 you can do it by yourself.

Yes, but another hard step is America is very strict of letting people in if they have no one here. You and your bro can travel here as guest and get to know it and ask talk to them first.  Theres something about visa that I am not very familiar with, so go do a lot of research and understand more about it, because theres  too many to talk about.