Moving to the USA from the UK: Visas, Green Cards and Where to Apply

No. The United Kingdom is not on the list of 39 countries restricted by Proclamation 10998, which took effect on January 1, 2026. It was also not on the separate 75-country immigrant visa pause that began in January 2026.

One worldwide change does affect British applicants:

• Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates worldwide while consular officers are trained on public charge reviews. Scheduled interviews were moved to later dates, and no restart date has been announced as of September 2026. Visitor, student, and temporary work visas are not part of this pause. Details: immigrant visa pause.

If you are moving on a temporary visa (E-2, L-1, H-1B, O-1, F-1), your plans are not directly affected by the immigrant visa freeze. If you are waiting for a family or employment green card through the embassy in London, expect delays.

The right route depends on your job, money, and family ties. This table compares the most common options for British citizens.

For self-starters with a strong record, the EB-2 National Interest Waiver and EB-1A let you apply for a green card without an employer.

For an overview of every route, see our guide to US immigration and how US immigration works.

Usually not. The UK is a Visa Waiver Program country, so British citizens with the unrestricted right of permanent abode in the UK can travel for tourism or business meetings for up to 90 days with an approved ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). Apply only on the official CBP ESTA website.

You cannot work, study for credit, or extend your stay on ESTA. You will need a B-2 visitor visa instead if:

• you have been arrested or convicted of certain offenses (the ESTA form asks about this),
• your ESTA was refused or you were refused a US visa before,
• you have been in Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen since March 1, 2011, or Cuba since January 12, 2021 (with limited exceptions), or
• you are also a national of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.

British Overseas Territories citizens and other British nationality types without the right of abode in the UK are not covered by the VWP and normally need a visa.

E-2 investor visa. The UK has had a trade treaty with the US since 1815, so British nationals qualify for E-1 and E-2 visas. Commonwealth citizens who are not UK nationals do not qualify through the UK treaty. The E-2 has no fixed minimum investment in law; the amount must be "substantial" for the business you are buying or starting. E-2 visas for British nationals can be issued for up to 5 years at a time.

Employer routes. L-1 transfers are common for staff of UK companies with US offices. The H-1B is open to UK graduates, but it uses a yearly lottery. Since February 27, 2026, the H-1B lottery gives more entries to higher wage levels. A separate $100,000 fee on some new H-1B petitions (from a September 2025 proclamation) is being fought in court, with judges split as of September 2026. See H-1B $100k fee.

Students. The F-1 is for degree study; the J-1 covers exchange programs, internships, and camp counselor roles. Since September 15, 2026, new F-1 students are admitted until a fixed date instead of for "duration of status", so you may need to file for an extension if your program runs longer. See F-1 fixed admission period.

Investors. The EB-5 program gives a green card for a qualifying investment, and the new Gold Card is live for very high-net-worth applicants.

Family. US citizens can sponsor a spouse, children, parents, and siblings. Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of adult US citizens have no annual cap. Other family categories (F1 to F4) wait in line using the Visa Bulletin.

Employment. EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 green cards usually need a US employer (except EB-1A and the EB-2 NIW). Because fewer British nationals apply than people from India or China, UK applicants use the "all chargeability" (rest of world) dates, which move faster than those for India, China, Mexico, or the Philippines.

Diversity Visa. Natives of the UK could enter DV-2026 (Northern Ireland has always been eligible). The Diversity Visa (DV) lottery is paused: visa issuance stopped on December 23, 2025, and DV-2027 registration never opened. See DV lottery paused.

• US Embassy London (Nine Elms): handles immigrant visas for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, plus visitor and work visas for applicants living in Great Britain.
• US Consulate General Belfast: handles nonimmigrant visas for people living in Northern Ireland.

The State Department's guidance is to apply for a visitor or other temporary visa at the US embassy or consulate in the country where you live. Applying elsewhere is possible but can make it harder to show you qualify. Book appointments and check wait times on the embassy's website. For the interview itself, see our visa interview guide.

For an immigrant visa (green card through the embassy), the State Department lists these UK documents:

• Police certificate: an ACRO Police Certificate from the ACRO Criminal Records Office, if you are over 16 and have lived in the UK for 6 months or more. If it reads "No Live Trace" or "Further Information Stepped Down", it must include the list of convictions to be accepted.
• Birth certificate: the long-form (full) certificate from the General Register Office (England and Wales), National Records of Scotland, or GRONI (Northern Ireland).
• Marriage and divorce records: marriage certificates from the local register office; divorce decrees absolute or final orders from the court.

You also need police certificates from any other country where you lived for the required period. Full details are on the State Department's UK reciprocity page (linked in Sources).

British-born residents are spread across the country rather than clustered in one place. Large communities live in California (Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area), New York and New Jersey, Florida (especially Orlando and the Tampa and Miami areas), and Texas (Houston, Dallas, and Austin). Boston, Chicago, and Seattle also have sizeable British professional communities, and many cities have British clubs, pubs, and football supporter groups.