How to move to live in the United States

Choosing to live in another country, seeking one's fortune outside Italy, is a decision that must be carefully weighed, especially by checking what the real possibilities of work and integration are in the chosen country. Moving abroad for a period, or permanently, requires prior preparation, especially to know which permits or visas are needed to live in a given country.

A very popular destination among Italians is America, even though it is so far from Europe. However, to live for a period or move to America, it is necessary to know how to do so, especially from the point of view of permits. Knowing the most widely used language in the new country is also essential for living abroad. If you decide to move to America for a period or permanently, English is the most widely used language, so from a linguistic point of view everything is quite simple, since it is the most used language in the world.

If you wish to travel to the United States, you must apply for an ESTA or a U.S. visa. Only travelers with U.S. or Canadian nationality are exempt from this requirement. An ESTA or a visa is also required to transit through the United States. In many cases it is not necessary to apply for a U.S. visa. Italian citizens, as well as most European citizens, can use an ESTA.

What is a visa?

In general, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to travel to the United States must obtain a visa. The visa is placed in the traveler's passport or other appropriate travel document. In some cases, it is possible to travel without a visa if certain requirements are met.

Visas are divided into two main categories:

• intended for temporary stay in the United States ("nonimmigrant" visas)
• required, instead, by those who intend to move to the United States permanently ("immigrant" visas). Within these main categories, there are multiple types of visas, depending on the reason for travel.

What visas you need to go to the United States

To go to America, it is important to know that it is mandatory to have special visas, that is, one cannot decide to live in this country without planning in advance to obtain the correct visa. America, in fact, provides for different types of documents, depending on the purpose of the trip: for tourism, for work, to move to America.

First, one must distinguish between:

• Immigrant visas: includes visas for those who wish to move to the United States;
• Nonimmigrant visas: whose trip to the United States depends on reasons other than permanent residence in the country.

The reason for moving to the United States, for a more or less long period of time, is decisive in knowing which visa to apply for. Here is a summary of what visas are needed for the various situations.

Nonimmigrant visas

Nonimmigrant visas are for those who wish to travel to the United States for a limited period of time and then return to Italy or their country of residence. In some cases, one can travel to the United States WITHOUT a visa. This occurs when you meet the requirements to take advantage of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). To check if you meet the requirements, visit the page of the Visa Waiver Program. (Italy is one of them), so if you are an eligible citizen or national of a Visa Waiver Program country, you do not currently hold a tourist visa, your trip is 90 days or less, and you plan to travel to the United States for business or pleasure, you can apply for an ESTA without needing to apply for a tourist visa.

The visa category depends on the reason for your trip to the United States. Here are the main categories of nonimmigrant visas and their characteristics:

• Tourism, business and medical treatment: in these cases it is necessary to apply for a category B visa (B1, B2 and B1/B2), in cases where the Visa Waiver Program VWP cannot be applied for. The B1 category is reserved for business travelers, while B2 is for those traveling as tourists or for medical treatment. Foreigners who stay less than three months in the United States are considered tourists;
• Transit: if you have to pass through a country in America on your way to another, that is, only to travel, you must apply for a C1 visa;
• Crew members: anyone traveling to the United States as a crew member of an airplane or ship must apply for a C1/D visa;
• Trade or investment: if you travel to the United States to start a business activity or make an investment, the required visa is of category E;
• Students: if they travel to the United States to study, they can apply for an F or M visa;
• Journalists: Those working in journalism who go to the United States to perform journalistic support work or in media need a category I visa;
• Cultural exchanges: if you decide to go to the United States for cultural exchange or research purposes, you will need to apply for a J visa;
• Diplomats and military: this category includes various personalities, who can apply for A, G, NATO visas;
• Temporary workers: in this case there are different types of visa, from H to R.

In this last case, depending on the type of temporary work performed in America, it is possible to apply for one of the various visas needed to stay for a period of time on the continent. It should be noted that to obtain this type of visa it is necessary for the employer to have previously filed an appropriate petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and for it to have been approved.

For this reason, it is strongly recommended to find a job before leaving for America, that is, to find in advance an employer who can guarantee you the position for a period of time, and to have the petitions filed on your behalf.

Tourism and business visas

B-1 visa | Temporary U.S. business visa for those who intend to consult or negotiate with business partners or wish to attend an educational, scientific or business conference or congress.
B-2 visa | Temporary tourist visa for those who intend to go on vacation to the U.S. or wish to visit relatives or friends, or for those who need to undergo medical treatment, or participate in musical and/or sporting events or competitions, or take a short recreational course (for example, a two-day cooking course during their vacation in the U.S.).
Combination of B-1 and B-2 | Temporary business and tourism visa. It is a combination of a B1 visa and a B2 visa.

With a B1 visa, a B2 visa or a B1/B2 visa, you cannot study, work, be paid for professional services, enter as a crew member of a ship or airplane, or remain permanently in the U.S.

Study or work visas

F visa | Issued to foreign students enrolled in recognized U.S. institutions. In addition to the students themselves, it can also be issued to their spouses and children.
H visa | This visa is issued to foreign workers who wish to stay temporarily in the United States to work.
J visa | This visa is issued to workers and students who wish to participate in an exchange program. The purpose of the law to which this visa is subject is to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people from other countries through educational and cultural exchanges.
L visa | This visa is issued to employees of companies based in their own country or in the United States. To be eligible for an L visa, the applicant must have been employed by the company in question for at least one year. The L visa has a maximum validity of seven years, both for the applicant and for the spouse and children.
M visa | This visa is issued to students who wish to attend vocational and/or technical training courses. Spouses and children of these persons can also travel to the United States with this visa.
O visa | This visa is issued to persons who possess outstanding abilities in the fields of science, art, education, business or sports. These persons must be able to demonstrate that they have a proven track record and that the work is temporary.
P visa | This visa is issued to athletes, entertainers, artists or members of teams that support these persons in their activities.
Q visa | This visa is issued to participants in international cultural exchange programs.

Temporary work visas

Specifically, temporary work visas are of this type:

Visa | Type of temporary work
H1B | Highly specialized personnel: for government research and development projects, there is a fee of 168 dollars per person relocated, including family members.
H2A | Temporary agricultural workers
H2B | Temporary or seasonal non-agricultural workers
H3 | Non-medical trainees
L | The relocated worker must continue working for the company for which they have worked at least one continuous year during the previous three years. In this case too, relocation fees must be paid, including for family members.
O | Category reserved for persons who have achieved achievements in the fields of science, arts, sports, business and trade and are recognized nationally or internationally.
P | Category reserved for athletes, sports teams and internationally recognized entertainment groups
Q1 | Participants in international cultural exchange programs to share from the applicant's country
R1 | Those who must temporarily provide religious services from a recognized organization. In this case too, a relocation fee must be paid for the family.

Although these categories cover most of the seasonal and temporary jobs that can be performed in the United States, it should be remembered that there is a limited number of places in each category for people coming from abroad for these reasons. Therefore, before moving, it is necessary to check the official American pages for information on these thresholds, in particular https://www.uscis.gov/.

How to obtain a visa

To obtain one of the visas mentioned, you must process your specific application online, in detail:

• Apply for a visa here: https://ais.usvisa-info.com/it-it/niv;
• Register here https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/;
• Pay the consular fee;
• Have a valid passport, a valid passport photo, documents proving residence in Italy, bank statement and latest payslips, pay the reciprocity fee when necessary (for children and family members);
• Have an interview with a consular officer in the United States.

The application can be accepted or rejected, but this usually happens within a week. The application can also be processed in another way: on Italian territory it is also possible to request assistance with procedures at U.S. consulates in Italy.

Immigrant visas

For those who decide to emigrate permanently to the United States, the procedures are more complex, and sometimes it is necessary to prepare several months or years in advance, in order to precisely plan the arrival and have all the documents in order to be able to stay in the United States. The Consulate General of the United States in Naples is the only consulate in Italy that issues immigrant visas, fiancé visas and diversity visas, and has jurisdiction over immigrant visa, fiancé visa and diversity visa applications filed by persons residing in Italy, Iran and Malta. 

To recap, to go to the United States as a tourist you can apply for an ESTA for the period you wish, to go to work in the United States for a short period you can apply for one of the permits seen above, that is, a Temporary Worker Visa.

If, on the other hand, you wish to move permanently, the possibilities are quite limited. In most cases you can use a temporary work permit. Alternatively, a longer-lasting visa is the famous Green Card, which, however, must be renewed every 10 years. There are several possibilities for obtaining this visa:

• Through marriage to a U.S. citizen;
• By applying for the Family Immigration Green Card, which must be filed with the USCIS, with a payment of 500 USD;
• An employer in the United States, in the case of long-term employment, can apply for an Employment Immigration Green Card;
• You can participate in the Diversity Visa Program lottery, which draws each year an interesting number of Green Cards to live in the United States (50,000).

In order to find a permanent job in America in any case, it is advisable to look for it already from Italy, informing yourself in advance and using the official sites offering job positions. Although generally companies look for personnel in America, for some specific positions residents of other countries can also be sought, considering the possibility of relocation.

Some of the most sought-after professions in the United States belong to the field of medicine, but other sectors can also offer important opportunities.

U.S. ESTA visa

The ESTA is the visa for travelers who are citizens of Italy and other countries included in the Visa Waiver Program and wish to stay in the U.S. for a period of less than 90 days.

This type of visa is the most suitable for tourism, but it can also be used by those traveling to the United States for business. It is valid for two years and allows multiple trips to the United States. None of these stays should exceed 90 consecutive days.

The ESTA can only be applied for online, the cost is 72 USD. With ESTA authorization you will be able to travel through the United States for tourist or professional purposes.

However, it is not possible to work permanently

"Green Card Lottery

In addition to the visas mentioned above, there is also a real lottery to obtain the well-known American green card. With this lottery it is possible to win a U.S. visa. The lottery is organized by the United States Congress; each year 50,000 visas are granted to the drawn participants, coming from pre-qualified countries, including Italy.

Languages you need to know

If you wish to move to the United States, or live there for a time, you should know that the main language spoken is English, so in this sense it is a country that does not require additional languages. However, Spanish and French are also widely spoken.

The greatest complexities of moving to the United States have to do with bureaucracy and obtaining a visa, so it is advisable to learn English before starting the bureaucratic procedures, so that you can also easily consult government websites where you will find all the information necessary to proceed.

One way to start getting an idea of what it is like to live in the United States is to make the most of your three-month tourist visa to find out which is the best area to live in, analyze housing prices and job opportunities in the area.

It should be remembered that if you opt for a tourist visa, you will not be able to start working in the United States during that time, so you will need to apply for a work visa later.

Health insurance

Health insurance in the United States is not mandatory, but it is also advisable to avoid paying large sums of money in case of medical need. There are different types of health insurance, so you can freely choose based on what you want included.

However, there is a public system for several categories of citizens, in particular:

• Medicaid: intended for particularly needy and elderly people;
• Medicare: aimed at people with disabilities.

Apart from these two possibilities, all U.S. citizens take out private health insurance, so it is advisable to inform yourself in advance on the Internet to be covered in case of any eventuality. The price of individual visits varies greatly depending on health insurance and whether or not one has it, so without insurance the payment is also very expensive.

More information

In addition to the bureaucratic procedures seen above, when you wish to travel to America or move there, it is advisable to think about a phone plan that also provides service in America, or to communicate between America and Europe and have an effective Internet plan.

It is also necessary to inform yourself about opening a bank account in America: here one can find out about the possibilities in America, or decide to open an international online bank account, which may be more flexible for those who travel or move. It is important to carry a debit card to make payments in America, and to have a credit card, which can be useful, for example, to rent a vehicle to travel, or to pay for a hotel.

In addition, it may be convenient to purchase some adapters to recharge technological equipment, phones and computers, which are especially useful if you decide to work in smart working or as a digital nomad.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When is it necessary to apply for a visa?

It is not necessary to apply for a visa if an ESTA is sufficient.

You must apply for a U.S. visa if

-You wish to stay in the U.S. more than 90 consecutive days

-The reason for the trip is not tourism, medical or business

-You have been in Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya or Somalia after 2011.

-You hold the nationality of one of these countries (even if it is your second nationality)

-You are traveling to the United States aboard a private plane or with an airline or transport company that is not part of the ESTA system.

-You cannot answer "no" to all the eligibility questions on the ESTA form

Who must apply for the ESTA?

- You are an eligible citizen or national of a Visa Waiver Program country.

- You do not currently hold a tourist visa.

- Your trip is 90 days or less.

- You plan to travel to the United States for business or pleasure.

You wish to apply for a new authorization for one person or a group application for two or more people.

A person who applies for and obtains an ESTA does not need a visa if they meet the above requirements.

If you cannot apply for an ESTA, you will need to apply for a U.S. visa. Approval of a visa application does not guarantee actual entry into the U.S.. Upon arrival, the Department of Immigration has the right to deny you entry without stating the reasons. This is done if they consider that there is a security threat or that you do not comply with the Immigration and Nationality Act.

U.S. visas can be divided into two main categories:

- nonimmigrant visas

- immigrant visas.

Nonimmigrant visas are valid for travel for the purpose of temporarily traveling to the U.S. for tourism, business, work or study.

Immigrant visas are visas for those who wish to immigrate to the United States.