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marbro | on: UK's hardware talent is being wasted
Why don't all British hardware engineers move to the United States? What keeps them in Britain?
wenc | parent | next
Ironically, other countries (former British colonies) have more access to US "specialty occupation" working visas than the UK does -- none of these are H1-B.

Canadians and Mexicans have TN, Australians have E3, Singapore and Chile have H-1B1 (a subcategory of H1-B but with its own quotas).

https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary...

Most foreign engineers in the US (outside of H-1Bs) are actually Canadians.

But there are no easy visas for the UK.

akomtu | root | parent
It's not surprising in the light what the US celebrates on the 4th of July.
wenc | root | parent
I have to correct myself slightly -- the Brit engineers I do meet in the US often come here on an L1A/L1B intra-company transfer from a British subsidiary. So that's one path.

But yes, the visa path for UK citizen to accept a direct job offer is much more limited.

nsteel | parent | next
I'm a British-American hardware engineer, I've lived in the UK nearly all my life. I've a home, and a family with kids here, I'm very settled. I've had plenty opportunity to move to the US, even before I had a family (with my current employer or under my own steam as a citizen) and I've no interest. I visit the US every few years and by the end of the trip I'm very much done with it all. Other than the much larger job market, I don't think there's a single US thing I want. Everything we have here is either better, or I'm sufficiently used to it. American is an unappealing place to live for many social reasons, I'd much rather move to France or Germany if I had to leave (and wasn't worried about the language barriers).
rwmj | parent | next
It's practically very difficult to move to the US. Getting a visa is hard even in the best case (with a helpful sponsor). And if you're in any way settled in the UK (partner, house, possessions, etc) then you've got multiple other problems to solve.
jebarker | root | parent
> partner, house, possessions, etc) - then you’ve got multiple other problems to solve

I get the intent, but this made me laugh

nicoburns | parent | next
Aside from non-economic reasons why one may wish to remain in one's home country, it is not easy to get a work visa for the US.
corimaith | parent | next
Immigrating to USA is hard, probably one of the hardest because competition is so high. Tbh I'd recommend going someplace like Hong Kong whose government is starved for talent and pays similar when balancing for tax but similar social services.
JonChesterfield | parent | next
I'm under the impression that tech people working in the US on visas are exploited. The end of year review / firing round which is so popular in the US means you can lose your job, which means you lose your visa, and you get something like 4 weeks to land a replacement or have to move out of the country.

At 20? Sure, who cares. If you've got a house, kids in a local school? The level of stress about being abruptly thrown out of the country seems untenable.

I would expect that dynamic to suppress wages for immigrants (as you have fear to keep them in line instead). Healthcare seems to be similarly set up to frighten people into staying in their current employment.

This perspective might not be accurate, but it's why this British engineer is unwilling to move to the US.

wenc | root | parent
You're not wrong, but immigrants from other places are willing to take that risk with their families. This insecurity, for better or for worse, selects for a type of hungry immigrant who are also risk-takers, for whom the push of their own country overrides the risks.

(Don't get me wrong -- I'm not condoning it -- US immigration is really wanting. I'm just remarking on its 2nd order effects).

If you grew up with European norms, it might feel like exploitation. But for others seeking opportunity or fleeing poverty, it's a good trade off.

I've been studying the history of early emigration lately. Seems to me that outside of those who didn't have the means to leave, the Brits who were more upper class stayed home because they were happy enough with the status quo. It's the more blue collar Brits who had less to lose that went over to the new world. And America was built by the latter group.

(Canada OTOH was initially populated by the Brits who went over to the new world, but were happy with the status quo of being Brits i.e. the United Empire Loyalists. That's why Canadians today are just a little more risk-averse than Americans. Source: I'm Canadian).

jameshart | parent | next
It's not obvious that the US is necessarily a better place to 'do hardware' than the UK for them anyway.

Plus if you're a UK-based person with a STEM background, the fintech industry will pay you a lot of money if you're willing to do their dirty work.

IneffablePigeon | parent | next
Not wanting to live in the United States, I would venture.
Discordian93 | parent | next
It's not that easy to get a work permit in the US unless you're truly exceptional or marry an American.
zdragnar | root | parent
My cousin (an American living and working in France) married a guy originally from Morocco. After eventually realizing that they might want to move to the US, they couldn't, because he couldn't get a visa.

It would have taken quite a bit of time- my cousin would have had to move back to the US first, established residence, and gotten a job and some other requirements. Only then could they have qualified to apply, and the wait time for the application to be approved would be in the 9-14 months range.

Once they applied, he could have moved here with her, but not gotten a job, I think, until the application for the visa was approved.

Ultimately, they opted to go a different route.

cyberax | root | parent
> It would have taken quite a bit of time- my cousin would have had to move back to the US first, established residence, and gotten a job and some other requirements.

That's strange. A spouse green card doesn't require the residence and there is no wait time for the spouses of US Citizens. However, the processing time (especially via consular processing) is ridiculous, around 2 years now.

aylmao | parent | next
Some people don’t focus primarily on the money. When that’s the case, many things (love, pride, comfort, dreams, fears, etc) might keep someone from moving.
gazchop | parent | next
Hardware engineer here, from a qualification perspective. I worked for a large American defence company and was invited to work in the US. I declined.

The work culture, social and economic stability are terrible. Education is expensive or poor. Regulation and standards are poor. Not a good place to bring up a family.

david-gpu | parent | next
Family and friends.
LAC-Tech | parent | next
Visas are not a pleasant thing to deal with.
blopp99 | parent
Don't they suffer from the same H1B restrictions?