Really nervous about the future

[hopefulteapot]

Not with my boyfriend but the unknown. We both know we want to live together as soon as possible and he's working towards that as he wants to move here. That's all great but I'm so scared of the difficulties and the denials we may have to face. I love him so much and I don't want any barriers later on. I've heard so many horror stories where people are denied or things don't work out and they can't be together. Even though that's probably not going to happen, I fear it and can't let that happen. The plan is for him to get a master's in his field (he's nearly done with his Bachelor's) and get involved with people who can help him find work abroad. I'm hoping that will be enough to find him a solid job here so we don't have to endure any dead-ends. Does anyone know if that works or are there more obstacles that he'd have to face in order to stay here permanently?

[Periwinkle]

You probably know all of this, but if you do get married, and he's not a US citizen, it's going to be a very tough and disheartening process. You're pretty much going to be checked up on a lot, since a lot of people fake marriages for US citizenship. Also, he's getting a work visa as far as I can tell. People are more skeptical about hiring non-US citizens, even though it may be a bit more relaxed in New York as there are a bunch of foreign people living there. I recommend he finds a job before finalizing the movement. He's the one making the sacrifice here, leaving his home country, probably family and friends behind, and if you were to ever leave him, he'd be in a pretty bad spot. So I say he should find a job before moving to NY. I wish you the best of luck :P

[silvermoonfairy3]

I haven't found that people are skeptical of hiring non-US citizens, particularly on the coasts. (It might be a bit different in the middle of the country, which tends to be more politically/globally conservative.) But it *does* take more paperwork, time, etc.
There might be a bit of a bigger hassle getting a job as a foreigner if you're from a middle eastern country, because unfortunately we're very oversensitive to that area right now. But your SO from England shouldn't have those issues.

The biggest obstacle as far as him getting work won't be that he's foreign, it'll be whether he has good qualifications in a field that needs workers. What is he planning to study?

And, could your boyfriend do his Masters *in* the US?
It would be invaluable for him starting to make connections in his field that could lead to jobs. And, he'd be in-country for interviews if he could complete applications around the time he's finishing his thesis. There's a good chance, with the way things go, that he'd have to go back to England for a bit between completing his Masters and accepting a job here, but he'd potentially have much better leads.