Hi All, Happy New Year.
Has anyone made the move from the UK to the USA to work?
I am seriously thinking of moving to America to work, but have no idea where to start? I am an Assistant Producer.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Making the Move to America
by Anupreet Bains on 4th Jan 2019 Answers
To add your answer, please
Not to sound negative (I lived on the USA for 5 years) but not an easy thing to do unless you are a dual citizen.
Simplest path is to work for an indie with offices in the USA then get transferred out there
Plus you'll need a skilled migrant visa, probably something like an h-1b or an O-1B.
Also, bear in mind freelancing doesn't really work the same way in the USA, there aren't tons of small companies like the UK market, so you'll probably end up on contract with a larger corporation to start. But, if you do go freelance you'll be picking up all your medical costs too (around$300-400 month).
There's a reason tons of USA telly gets made in the UK!
Thank you Ed for that honest reply. Yes I was planning on going for a year or two not to move permanently at this stage. Yes I thought maybe the indie with USA connections might be good, but I’ve heard it’s more difficult to get an I Visa now too. That’s good to know about the set up over there. Thank you so much for your help.
Just a heads up, you can't work on an i-visa in the USA for a USA based company, they are for temporary work in the USA funded by a foreign (UK) employer.
Hi Anupreet,
I moved from working in TV in London to NYC and then to LA, where I still live.
Ed raises some useful points and I agree moving here to work for a UK company with a US office is the easiest route.
I would definitely contact an attorney and discuss visa options with them. Many will give a free initial consultation.
I-Visa info
https://www.immihelp.com/visas/mediavisa/
Various visa options explained
http://www.visapro.com/work-visas/o2-visa/
In terms of freelancing it's worth remembering we have a thriving TV industry here, with keen and able US citizens competing for work. I've spoken to several TV Brits who've made the move and they've found their UK body of work isn't taken into account, and that it's more about their US credits, contacts and local knowledge.
You should consider which part of the US you want to be based in. An idea is to make a few trips, staying in an AirBnB for a week or so to see if you'd really like to live in a certain city or neighbourhood.
Staff Me Up lists US TV employment opportunities and The Talent Manager has a separate page for US job posts. There are also Facebook groups for Brits living in the US (Brits in LA, Brits in NY etc), which are useful for finding out about the mundane day to day issues all immigrants face - building credit, health insurance and housing etc. Once you are here join Brits in the Box to connect with other US based TV Brits.
Feel free to contact me directly if you have more questions. sarah@spincycle.tv
Good luck. The move is possible but it's not easy.
Thank you so much Sarah, I will definitely check out the links. Thank you for the offer of further advice. I am sure I will be in touch.