Fake news from the Torygraph: It’s already easy for UK citizens to work in the States

Last Updated: January 23, 2017By

Theresa May lectured us all about what she’ll say to Donald Trump as the first foreign leader to meet him after his presidential inauguration, when she appeared on The Andrew Marr Show. She just can’t wait to give him anything he wants.

This is actually a little pathetic. The Telegraph wants us to think a UK-US trade deal will make it easier for British people to work in the States, and vice-versa:

Theresa May and Donald Trump will this week hold talks over a US-UK trade deal that slashes tariffs and makes it easier for hundreds of thousands of workers to move between the two countries.

Sources believe any agreement on tariffs would give Mrs May significant leverage in her negotiations with Brussels and allow her to demand that EU leaders give Britain a good deal.

Government sources also said that Mrs May wants to explore ways in which it is easier for US citizens to work in the UK and vice-versa.

But a million of us already work there, and a million of them already work here:

There are currently around one million Americans working in Britain and around one million UK citizens in the United States.

So there would be no benefit at all. A UK-US trade deal would be about slashing quality and harming workers’ rights by bringing both down to the lowest common denominator – the American standard. The Telegraph article is fake news.

Source: Theresa May and Donald Trump to hold talks on trade deal that cuts tariffs and allows workers to move between the US and UK

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8 Comments

  1. Tony Dean. January 23, 2017 at 12:21 pm - Reply

    Actually it is not easy for Britons to work in the United States. I suggest you do some research on the matter.

    • Mike Sivier January 24, 2017 at 11:15 am - Reply

      I did, a few years ago, when I was considering going there myself.
      Thing is, when 1/60 of our population is working there, we can’t really argue that it isn’t easy.

  2. NMac January 23, 2017 at 1:38 pm - Reply

    These people really are utterly loathsome. They’re willing to sell their souls to the USA, but they are incapable of working as partners alongside our friends and neighbours in Europe, and all they can do is throw empty threats at them and hurl obnoxious insults.

  3. Martin January 23, 2017 at 4:20 pm - Reply

    Actually it isn’t very easy for foreign nationals to work in America. First you need a job waiting for you in the States, a valid work visa, as well as a permit to work, officially known as an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). When I was working for a company called Linuxcare in San Francisco, my visa ran out and I had to go to Canada for several weeks until the company could go through a complex legal process to secure permission and a visa extension to allow me back into the country.

    None of these things are particularly easy to come by.

    It ISN’T easy to work legally in the United States of America.

    And things look set to get a darn sight more difficult under Trump.

    • Mike Sivier January 24, 2017 at 11:06 am - Reply

      But you were working in the States, weren’t you?

  4. Barry Davies January 23, 2017 at 10:10 pm - Reply

    Well according to the New European, the misnamed European Central Bank is complaining the Trump has been expressing the need for protectionist policies, now which corruption riddled democratically deficient multi national body does that sound like which already imposes such policies

    • Mike Sivier January 24, 2017 at 10:58 am - Reply

      The US. That’s what TTIP was all about, after all.

  5. cagey January 25, 2017 at 10:33 pm - Reply

    Mike: As someone who brought her British husband here and has navigated the ins-and-outs of both systems, I can confirm to you that working in the US for a UK citizen isn’t a cut and dry issue. 1 Million Brits working in America doesn’t show you the full picture. For instance, what visas did those 1 million enter the country on? I see it time and time again – a gentleman comes on immigration advice forums with big dreams of wanting to bring their wife, kids etc to the States and live the American dream. We have to then fairly shatter those dreams by being honest with them – they have a snowball’s chance in hell. The reality is if a UK citizen wants to enter via a work visa or diversity visa alone it is nearly impossible to do. The US gives those visas to countries of more.. shall we say, ”interest”. So how does a UK citizen get in the country? Well if they are highly educated in specialist positions for a different visa class it is a longshot possibility, and furthermore if they can find an employer stateside or request a company transfer (in this way the company fronts thousands of dollars on their behalf) they can also enter. But for most, the common way to enter the US is via marriage and fiancé visas – which grant the ability to work (one right off the bat and the other after going through an additional process). Despite that, I find that our process, at least as it relates to marriage based visas are far more fair to the UK citizen with the ease of process (I say that with a half-smile as it took nearly 320 days for us + an additional 10 months until my husband could legally work + plus a letter that went directly into the hands of President Obama requesting that he take action on an immigration matter which had backlogged hundreds of thousands of cases) – than you would find a US citizen trying to enter the UK. The US London embassy of which a great deal of cases are processed is notorious for being a near breath of fresh air experience for potential immigrants to the US, compared to the hell we put people through in ‘high fraud’ areas. Nearly all that I know of enter on marriage based or work transfers/academia (usually those of high means or ‘crucial jobs’). That being said, just entering the country from an English speaking country with a good degree (such as my own husband) did not guarantee a job. Nor did finally receiving his temporary permit, or even still his green card. US companies seem very leery of hiring foreigners at this time – any foreigner, including advanced educated ones (which would of course need to be paid more). Still my husband did obtain a job eventually, a well paying part time job, far below his abilities (something that unfortunately happens to many immigrants here) but still paying more and offering more flexibility than his UK job ever afforded him. So yes, the only way that it is ever ‘truly easy’ to enter the USA from the UK is 100% through marriage visas (or those who utilize ‘naughty gray areas to get in’ which I won’t go in depth on here), otherwise the chances narrow on a considerable margin. The same cannot be said for US non-EEA citizens wanting to enter the UK. I honestly don’t know how 1 million of us manage to work in the UK, but I suspect they are usually of higher means. The US allows both the rich man and the poor man to enter the US, provided of course they have a sponsor with a plethora of flexible ways to do that as well (something the UK should take note on). Still, I would indeed say that the idea of making it easier is laughable. I don’t simply know how one could make it easier to begin with. And I don’t believe either one of them knows how either.

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