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If you are planning to move to the United States, and more specifically to New York, the first thing to do is not to listen to those who tell you it is impossible. Everything is possible, especially in America: this is the very meaning of the American dream! Afterwards, the road to New York is not easy and you must therefore prepare your project as seriously as possible by following the rules of American immigration to the letter.
1 / Prepare your project
- You don’t go to live in New York like you go for a week’s vacation. You need to refine your project and ask yourself these first questions: what are you going to do there? Above all, how are you going to live? What activity do you plan to do? How are you going to pay your rent and your living there?
- In addition to the legal issue of the visa, you should know that living in New York is very expensive: rents are broadly equivalent to rents in Paris and health insurance is much more expensive than in Europe. In other words, you must leave with a clear vision of your future income in New York.
2 / Obtain a work visa
- Please note: you are not allowed to work in the United States if you do not have a visa that allows you to do so. Do not plan to emigrate and work in the United States with an Esta, the travel authorization reserved for tourists and businessmen: you would then be illegal and risk a 10-year ban from the United States.
- There are several work visas in the United States: H1B, L1, L2, E1, E2… But, quite frankly, you don’t need to bother to study each visa closely because, if you want to work in the United States. In the United States, you will not be doing the paperwork to obtain a visa. To be able to live and work in New York, or elsewhere in the United States, the best solution is indeed to find a company that will hire you there and become your “sponsor” for your visa. It is the company that will manage the visa issue!
- You can therefore send your CV to companies that interest you in New York or to French companies that have branches in New York. The course will not be simple but it is not impossible, especially if you have a sought-after profile, if you work for example in finance, insurance, science, hotels, starred restaurants …
- If you find a company that “sponsors” you for your visa, then you can get a so-called “non-immigrant” visa, valid for one to seven years.
3 / Try your luck at the Green Card lottery
- If you haven’t found a company that can sponsor you for your visa, nothing is lost! There is another possibility: get a Green Card, a green card.
- You have certainly heard of it: the Green Card lottery is an official lottery, organized by the American authorities, which allows 55,000 emigration permits to be allocated each year to foreign citizens who wish to settle in the United States. .
- This program, officially referred to as the “Diversity Visa Program”, has been in existence since 1990 and its purpose is to diversify immigration to the United States. In 2015, the latest statistic available, there were more than 14 million participants for 55,000 visas. Do you think you have absolutely no chance? Read the paragraph below …
- IMPORTANT: the diversity visa program sets up specific quotas by nationality! In 2015, more than 43,000 French people participated for 816 visas reserved for France, 7,200 Belgians for 107 visas for Belgium, 11,500 Swiss for 194 visas for Switzerland, nearly 130,000 Algerians for 3,076 visas for Algeria, nearly 120,000 Moroccans for 2,844 visas for Morocco and 8,300 Tunisians for 221 for Tunisia.
- Registration is free and everything takes place online on the official lottery website: www.dvlottery.state.gov. Be careful to go through the official site because there are a host of scams on the Internet in this area: some sites look like the official site and ask you astronomical sums to simply register for the lottery of the Green Card. Once again, the lottery is FREE!
- Before registering, however, think about what you will do on site and prepare your project there too. Because, if your name is drawn, you will have to pass an interview at the American Embassy to explain what you plan to do in the United States and how you will be able to live there. Only then will you be awarded the Green Card or not.
4 / get married to a New Yorker
- There is another way to get a Green Card and be able to live and work legally in the United States: get married to a person of American nationality! Of course, I recognize that this is not the most frequent case, but I must point it out to you, since this allows you to directly obtain a Green Card.
- So if you find love in New York, why not take the plunge all the way! Be careful, however: the American authorities closely control marriages, in order to avoid sham marriages.
5 / Start your business
- Another less common but equally effective possibility: the immigrant investor visa (C5, T5, R5 and I5 visas). This visa is issued to foreigners who want to start a business in the United States and plan to invest a minimum of $ 1 million in the United States or $ 500,000 in an area with high unemployment or in a rural area. Be careful, you will also have to commit to creating 10 jobs on site in 2 years.
- It’s a hell of a challenge but if you dream of opening a restaurant or any other business in New York, it’s not impossible either. Many foreigners do this every year.
6 / A special visa for athletes
- Finally, know that sport is another way to find your place in the United States. But, be careful: you must be a very high level athlete and be interested in an American club. There are very few elected but it is a possibility that exists.
- If you are recruited by an American club, you will then obtain a P-1 visa valid for one year.
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