A UK citizen can move to the US permanently through five main routes: sponsorship by a close American relative, an employer-backed green card, an investment of $800,000 or more through the EB-5 program, selection in the Diversity Visa lottery (which the United Kingdom is now eligible for), or a transition from a temporary work visa like the H-1B or L-1. Which route fits depends on what you already have — family in the U.S., a job offer, capital, or specialized skills — and each carries its own wait, cost, and paperwork.
Family Sponsorship
If a close relative is already a U.S. citizen or green card holder, they can petition for you by filing Form I-130 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative How fast you actually get a green card after that depends entirely on your relationship to the sponsor.
Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of adult U.S. citizens are “immediate relatives.” There is no annual cap on these visas, so there is no backlog to sit through.2U.S. Department of State. Family Immigration Everyone else — adult children, spouses of green card holders, siblings of U.S. citizens — falls into capped preference categories, and the waits are long.
The State Department’s Visa Bulletin shows which petitions are currently being processed. For UK citizens on the February 2026 bulletin, the F1 category (unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens) is working through petitions filed around November 2016. F2A (spouses and minor children of permanent residents) is roughly a two-year wait. F2B is about nine years. F3 (married children of U.S. citizens) is past 14 years. And the F4 sibling category is processing petitions from January 2008 — an 18-year backlog.3U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for February 2026 If you have a sibling in the U.S. willing to sponsor you, file now even if you are not planning to move for years.
Every family sponsor also signs Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support. This is a legally binding promise to support you financially so you do not become dependent on public benefits. The sponsor must show household income at 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size, or 100% for active-duty military sponsoring a spouse or child.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support A sponsor who falls short can use assets or add a joint sponsor.
Employer Sponsorship and Self-Petition
If a U.S. employer wants to hire you permanently, they can sponsor you for a green card. Most cases start with PERM labor certification through the Department of Labor, in which the employer proves no qualified American worker is available for the role.5eCFR. 20 CFR Part 656 – Labor Certification Process for Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United States Once certified, the employer files Form I-140 within 180 days, or the certification expires.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-140 Instructions for Petition for Alien Workers
Employment-based green cards run in five tiers. EB-1 covers priority workers — people with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives or managers. EB-2 covers professionals with an advanced degree (or a bachelor’s plus five years of progressive experience) and people with exceptional ability. EB-3 covers skilled workers, professionals with a bachelor’s, and certain other workers. EB-4 is for special immigrants including religious workers. EB-5 is the investor category.7U.S. Department of State. Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
Two routes let you skip both the employer sponsor and PERM. The first is EB-1A, for people with demonstrated extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics — you can file for yourself. The second is the EB-2 National Interest Waiver, which asks USCIS to waive the job offer requirement because your work has substantial merit and national importance, you are well-positioned to advance it, and waiving the usual requirement benefits the United States on balance.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2 The NIW has become a common path for UK researchers, entrepreneurs, and specialists without a U.S. employer lined up. The evidentiary bar is high, but you control the timeline.
Using a Temporary Visa as a Bridge
Many UK citizens do not go straight to a green card. They arrive on a temporary work visa first, then have the employer sponsor them for permanent residency.
The H-1B is the most common. It requires a job needing specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree in a directly related field. Congress caps the H-1B at 65,000 visas a year, plus 20,000 more for holders of a U.S. master’s degree or higher.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Cap Season Demand routinely outpaces supply, so USCIS runs a lottery. Beginning with FY 2027 registration in March 2026, a new weighted process gives an edge to higher-paid roles while still leaving the door open at every wage level.
The H-1B’s real value is “dual intent”: you can openly pursue a green card while holding it. Your initial three years can extend to six, and further extensions are usually available once a green card petition is pending. The L-1, for intracompany transfers of managers, executives, and specialized-knowledge employees, works the same way and is a natural fit for UK employees of multinationals opening or staffing a U.S. office.
Investment Routes
Two investor pathways matter for UK citizens, and they do very different things.
The E-2 Treaty Investor visa is available because the U.S. and UK have a qualifying treaty of commerce.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. E-2 Treaty Investors You invest a substantial sum in a real, operating U.S. business — no fixed floor, but enough to make the business viable — and you cannot have a “marginal” enterprise that just supports your family. The E-2 grants two years at a time and can be renewed indefinitely as long as the business is operating and you intend to leave when your status ends. Some UK entrepreneurs have lived in the U.S. for decades on rolling E-2s. What the E-2 does not do is give you a green card. If you want permanent residency, you need to move to another category eventually.
EB-5 is the direct-to-green-card investor route. The minimum investment is $1,050,000, or $800,000 if you invest in a targeted employment area (a rural region or one where unemployment is at least 150% of the national average). The investment must create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers, and you file Form I-526 for a standalone investment or Form I-526E through a USCIS-designated regional center, with evidence that your funds came from lawful sources.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification These minimums adjust for inflation every five years, with the first adjustment taking effect for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2027.
The Diversity Visa Lottery
The Diversity Visa lottery gives out up to 55,000 green cards a year to randomly selected applicants from countries with historically low U.S. immigration. For years the UK was excluded because too many British nationals had already immigrated. That has changed. The UK is now eligible for both the DV-2025 and DV-2026 programs.12U.S. Department of State. Instructions for the 2026 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2026) Northern Ireland has always been treated as a separate entity for DV purposes and is also eligible.13U.S. Department of State. Update on Diversity Visa (DV) Program 2025
To qualify, you need to be a native of an eligible country and have either a high school education or at least two years of qualifying work experience within the past five years. Entries are free and submitted online during a registration window each autumn. Selection is random. Winning does not guarantee a green card — it means you can file the formal application, complete the DS-260, and interview at the U.S. Embassy in London. Odds are long, but if you are eligible there is little reason not to enter each year while pursuing another route in parallel.
The Steps Every Applicant Shares
Whichever pathway you take, the final stage is either consular processing or adjustment of status. If you are in the UK when a visa number becomes available, you apply through the U.S. Embassy in London: you submit the DS-260, gather civil documents, do a medical exam, and attend an in-person interview. If you are already in the U.S. on a valid visa, you may be able to adjust status without leaving by filing Form I-485, and you can often get work and travel authorization while it is pending.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
Both paths require a valid passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate if relevant, police certificates from any country you have lived in, and category-specific evidence.
Every applicant also has a medical exam. In the UK, a panel physician designated by the Embassy performs it; in the U.S., a USCIS-designated civil surgeon does.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Medical Examination and Vaccination Record The exam confirms you are current on required vaccinations. Bring your NHS records — missing documentation for any required vaccine means paying for a booster on the day.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 9 – Vaccination Requirement COVID-19 vaccination stopped being required on January 20, 2025.
The officer will also do a public charge assessment, looking at your age, health, education, skills, financial resources, and Affidavit of Support (where required) to decide whether you are likely to become primarily dependent on government cash assistance. Aside from a missing required Affidavit, no single factor can be the sole basis for a public charge finding.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reaffirming Guidance on Public Charge Inadmissibility Determinations
What It Costs
Government filing fees stack up across the process. Under the USCIS fee schedule effective March 2026: Form I-130 is $675 by paper or $625 online; Form I-140 is $715 by paper or $665 online; Form I-485 is $1,440 for applicants over 14; the consular DS-260 processing fee is $325 for family-based and $345 for employment-based applicants.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule19U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
On top of that, budget for the medical exam (roughly $150 to $500 before vaccinations and labs), document translation and authentication, and legal fees if you use an immigration attorney. Employer-sponsored cases also carry the employer’s PERM costs, which can add several thousand dollars in legal and recruitment expenses. USCIS revises its fees periodically, so check the current G-1055 before you file.
Keeping Your Green Card Once You Have It
A green card is not permission to keep a UK life and visit America. USCIS expects you to actually live in the U.S. Short trips are fine. Absences longer than six months invite questions. Absences of a year or more create a legal presumption that you have abandoned your residence.
If you know you will be outside the U.S. for more than a year, file Form I-131 for a re-entry permit before you leave. The permit is generally valid for two years, though USCIS limits it to one year if you have been outside the U.S. for more than four of the past five years.20U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents It protects against an automatic abandonment finding, but USCIS can still question your intent. Long absences also damage your naturalization eligibility; an absence of a year or more resets the continuous residence clock.
Becoming a U.S. Citizen Later
After five years as a permanent resident (three if you got the green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen), you can apply to naturalize. The core requirements are five years of continuous residence, at least 30 months of physical presence during that period, and three months in the state where you apply.21eCFR. Part 316 – General Requirements for Naturalization
You file Form N-400, attend a biometrics appointment, and sit an interview covering English and civics. For applicants who file on or after October 20, 2025, the civics test uses the 2025 version: the officer asks 20 questions drawn from a list of 128, and you need at least 12 correct.22U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Naturalization Interview and Test
The UK allows dual nationality, so naturalizing does not cost you your British citizenship. It does, however, lock in U.S. tax filing on worldwide income for life, even if you move back to the UK. Think that through before you file.
The Tax Reality Most UK Immigrants Miss
The day you become a lawful permanent resident, you owe U.S. federal income tax on your worldwide income. Not just what you earn in America — UK rental income, investment gains, pensions, and UK bank interest all come into scope.23Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
A U.S.-UK tax treaty exists specifically to prevent double taxation.24U.S. Department of the Treasury. Convention Between the United States and the United Kingdom for the Avoidance of Double Taxation In practice, the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) lets you offset U.S. tax with UK tax you have already paid on the same income, dollar for dollar within limits. The mechanics are fiddly around UK pensions, ISAs, and other UK-specific products that get different U.S. treatment, so plan before you move rather than after.
Two reporting rules trip people up. The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is required if the combined balances of your foreign financial accounts exceed $10,000 at any point in the year. Form 8938 has higher thresholds: $50,000 on the last day of the year or $75,000 at any point for single filers, doubled for joint filers.25Internal Revenue Service. Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR Requirements Penalties are severe, and the most common reason UK immigrants miss these filings is simply not knowing they exist.
On the social insurance side, a U.S.-UK totalization agreement stops you paying into both systems at once. Employed in the U.S., you pay U.S. Social Security only. If a UK employer sends you to the U.S. temporarily for a period not expected to exceed five years, you keep paying UK National Insurance instead. The agreement also lets you combine credits from both countries to qualify for benefits in either.26Social Security Administration. U.S.-U.K. Social Security Agreement