A British passport lets its holder visit the United States without a visa. It does not give the right to work there or to make a home in the US, so a move needs a US visa that fits its purpose.
The visa also decides whether a Green Card (permanent residence in the US) can follow, and by which path. Being British changes what a visit allows, which business visas are open and whether the Diversity Visa lottery is an option.
Key takeaways
- Britons need a US visa to live or work in America, matched to the reason for the move: a job, a company transfer, talent, investment, family or study.
- A visit of up to 90 days needs only an approved ESTA, but a visitor cannot work and cannot switch to a work or student status inside the US.
- The UK is a treaty country for the E-1 and E-2 business visas, so UK nationals living in the UK can use them for their own US business.
- Lottery eligibility and the wait for some Green Cards depend on country of birth, so a UK resident born elsewhere follows the rules for that country.
What a British passport allows without a visa
British citizens can visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which covers tourism and business trips. It applies to British citizens who have the unrestricted right to live permanently in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Before boarding, each traveler needs an approved ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). ESTA is an online permission that US Customs and Border Protection runs, and even with it the officer at the airport decides whether to admit the traveler.
A visit under the program does not allow employment, study for credit or permanent residence. The visitor also cannot extend the stay or change to another temporary status, such as a work or student status, from inside the US. A Briton who plans to work or live in the US therefore gets the right visa before the move, usually by applying from the UK.
How can you move to the US from the UK?
A move from the UK to the US runs on one of two kinds of status. A nonimmigrant visa is temporary and tied to a purpose, such as a job, a business or a study program. Its holder is normally expected to leave when it ends, although a few, such as the H-1B, allow a Green Card application at the same time. An immigrant visa gives permanent residence, and so does a Green Card granted to someone already in the US.
Many routes begin with a petition. A petition is a request that an employer, a relative or the applicant files with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Most work, study and family routes are open to anyone who qualifies, whatever their passport. The exceptions depend on nationality or country of birth: the Visa Waiver Program, the E-1 and E-2 treaty visas, the TN visa and the Diversity Visa lottery.
H-1B visa for a job offer
The H-1B is the main visa for a professional with a job offer from a US employer. The job must be a specialty occupation (one that needs a degree in a specific field), and the worker’s degree must relate directly to it. The employer files the petition, and no investment or extraordinary achievement is required.
New H-1B visas are limited each year, so most first-time workers go through a yearly lottery with a fixed calendar. Employers register candidates in March and file petitions from April, and the job starts on October 1 at the earliest. In the 2026 season about 35 percent of registrations were selected. Selection is now weighted by wage, which improves the odds for senior, higher-paid roles and lowers them for junior ones.
A 2025 presidential proclamation created a $100,000 payment on H-1B petitions, to be paid by the employer that files the petition. As of October 2026 it was not being collected, because federal courts have blocked it. A Massachusetts court struck down the agencies’ guidance for collecting it in June 2026, and a California court order of September 30, 2026 barred the agencies from enforcing it until they go through the formal public comment process for new rules. A second proclamation extended the payment to September 2027, but only on paper while those orders stand.
A spouse and children come on H-4 visas, and some H-4 spouses can apply for a work permit. The H-1B also allows dual intent, so a worker can pursue a Green Card while holding it. The usual path is the employer’s PERM labor certification (a Department of Labor process that checks whether a qualified US worker is available for the job). A Briton cannot use the TN professional visa, which is open only to Canadian and Mexican citizens. The alternatives to the H-1B lottery are the L-1, O-1 and E-2 visas below.
L-1 visa for a transfer within the same company
The L-1 lets a company move an employee from an office abroad to a related office in the US. The employee must generally have worked for the company abroad for one continuous year within the three years before entering the US. The L-1A covers managers and executives, and the L-1B covers employees whose knowledge is specific to the company. The corporate link can run in either direction, so it works for a British company with a US subsidiary and for a US company with a UK branch.
A company opening its first US office can also use the L-1A, although the first stay is then one year instead of three. In total an L-1A manager can stay up to seven years. The family comes in L-2 status, and an L-2 spouse can work without a separate permit. When the time comes for a Green Card, multinational managers and executives have their own category, EB-1C, which also rests on a year of management abroad in the previous three.
O-1 visa and self-petitioned Green Cards for recognized talent
The O-1 is the work visa for people with extraordinary achievements in science, education, business, sports, the arts, or film and television. It has no annual quota, no lottery and no nationality rule, so a petition can be filed at any time of year. A US sponsor must file it, because the applicant cannot petition on their own behalf. The evidence has to meet criteria such as published material about the person’s work, judging the work of others, or a critical role at a distinguished organization.
That standard of extraordinary ability is a higher bar than the H-1B, which needs only the right degree for the job. A spouse and children can come on O-3 visas, but an O-3 spouse cannot work in that status. Our guide to the O-1 visa explains each criterion and the petition.
Two Green Card categories reward the same kind of record without an employer. EB-1A (extraordinary ability) and EB-2 with a national interest waiver (NIW) let applicants file for themselves. The NIW also waives the job offer and the PERM labor certification when the applicant’s work serves the US national interest.
E-2 and E-1 visas for a business
The United Kingdom is a treaty country for both treaty visas (the E-2 for investors and the E-1 for traders), and its treaty adds a condition of its own. The applicant must be a UK national and an “inhabitant” of British territory in Europe, which covers the UK, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. The treaty defines an inhabitant as someone who lives there permanently, so a British citizen settled elsewhere does not meet it.
The E-2 is for an investor who puts substantial capital into a US business and comes to develop and direct it. The investor must own at least half of the business or control it as a manager. The rules set no fixed minimum, because the investment is measured against the cost of the business. It must be large in proportion to that cost, and it must be at risk. The business must also be able, now or within five years, to earn more than a minimal living for the investor’s family.
The E-1 applies the same logic to a business with substantial trade between the US and the UK. Both visas are applied for at a US embassy or consulate, can be renewed without limit and do not lead to a Green Card. The investor may work only in the business, while a spouse may work anywhere. Our guide to the E-2 visa walks through each requirement.
EB-5 program for investors
The EB-5 program gives a Green Card to an investor whose money creates jobs in the US. The investment is $800,000 in a targeted employment area (a rural area or one with high unemployment) or $1,050,000 elsewhere, and it must create at least 10 full-time jobs. The money stays at risk with no guaranteed return.
The first Green Card is conditional for two years. In the 90 days before it expires, the investor files to remove the conditions by showing that the investment was kept in place and the jobs were created or are on track. One investment covers the investor’s spouse and unmarried children under 21. The two investment amounts are due to rise with inflation for petitions filed from January 1, 2027.
Family routes
A US citizen’s spouse, children under 21 and parents are immediate relatives, so no yearly limit applies to them and they skip the queue that those limits create for other relatives. A US citizen must be at least 21 to sponsor a parent. When a marriage is less than two years old on the day the Green Card is granted, the spouse receives a conditional card for two years, and the couple files to remove the conditions in the 90 days before it expires. A longer marriage leads to a 10-year card. A US citizen can also bring a fiancé or fiancée on a K-1 visa, and the couple must marry within 90 days of arrival.
Other relatives wait in line. The spouse and children of a Green Card holder, and the adult children and siblings of a US citizen, fall into family preference categories with yearly limits. Their wait depends on the monthly Visa Bulletin, which shows each month which places in the queue have been reached. A Green Card holder cannot sponsor parents.
Study and exchange programs
An F-1 student needs a place at a school certified for international students, which issues Form I-20. The student then pays the SEVIS fee (Form I-901), applies at the embassy and has to show an intention to leave the US at the end of the program. Many graduates then work on Optional Practical Training (OPT), which needs its own work permit, before an employer enters them in the yearly H-1B lottery.
The J-1 visa covers shorter exchange stays, such as internships for students and recent graduates, au pair placements and work and travel programs, each run through a designated sponsor. Some J-1 programs require two years in the home country before a move to an H-1B or a Green Card, so the rule is worth checking before the program starts.
The Diversity Visa lottery
The Diversity Visa lottery gives Green Cards to people born in countries with low immigration to the US. For DV-2026, the State Department’s instructions listed Great Britain (United Kingdom), and Northern Ireland separately, among the eligible countries in Europe. Eligibility follows the country of birth, not nationality or residence, so a person born in Great Britain can enter while living abroad. A UK resident born in an excluded country such as India cannot, although the main exception lets an applicant claim a spouse’s country of birth when the spouse was born in an eligible country.
Applicants also need a high school education or two recent years of work in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience. The list of eligible countries is published again for each program year. After the usual autumn opening was delayed, a federal court ordered the State Department to open DV-2027 entries by November 1, 2026. Whether people born in Great Britain can enter DV-2027 depends on the country list published with them.
What sets the timing and what each route costs
Each route has its own calendar and its own fees, and on the work routes the employer usually pays the petition fees. The table gives the main US government fees and what sets the timing for an applicant in the UK. Petition fees are from the USCIS fee schedule (edition of October 16, 2026, online filing), and visa fees are from the State Department fee page.
| Route | What sets the timing | Main US government fees | Leads to a Green Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-1B | Lottery registration in March, work from October | $3,545 in registration and petition fees (less for small employers and nonprofits), plus the $205 visa fee | Yes, usually through the employer |
| L-1 | The USCIS petition, then the embassy interview | $1,335 petition fee, $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection fee and $600 asylum fee, plus the $205 visa fee | Possible, through PERM, EB-1A or EB-1C |
| O-1 | No quota or lottery, filed at any time of year | $1,005 petition fee and $600 asylum fee, plus the $205 visa fee | Through a separate petition, often EB-1A |
| E-2 and E-1 | Setting up the business first, including its federal tax number (EIN), which can take four to six weeks for an owner without a US Social Security number | $315 visa fee | No |
| EB-5 | USCIS publishes no fixed time | $3,675 for the investor petition until November 29, 2026. From November 30 the fee is $7,615 for a standalone investor (Form I-526) or $7,850 for a regional center investor (Form I-526E) | Yes, conditional for two years |
| EB-1A or EB-2 NIW | The USCIS petition, then the Visa Bulletin | $665 petition fee and the $300 asylum fee for a self-petitioner, plus the $345 employment-based immigrant visa fee | Yes |
| Spouse of a US citizen | No visa queue. USCIS first, then the National Visa Center and the interview | $625 petition fee, plus the $325 family immigrant visa fee | Yes |
| F-1 student | Interview slots from May to August fill weeks ahead | $185 visa fee plus the SEVIS fee | No |
| Diversity Visa | One entry period a year, at least 30 days long | $1 to enter (new from DV-2027), $330 per person if selected | Yes |
Premium processing is a paid option that makes USCIS act on a petition within a set number of business days. Most petitions, including the O-1 and EB-1A, get 15 business days, while EB-1C and NIW petitions get 45. It costs $2,965 and speeds up only the USCIS decision, so the embassy interview, and on a Green Card case the Visa Bulletin wait, still come after it.
One fee that travelers ask about is not charged yet. A 2025 law set a $250 Visa Integrity Fee for each temporary visa issued, but as of October 2026 it had not been put into effect and does not appear on the State Department’s fee schedule.
Living in the UK on another passport
Where a US route depends on who the applicant is, it usually looks at nationality or country of birth rather than at where the applicant lives. The UK treaty for the E-1 and E-2 is the exception, because it also requires a permanent home in UK territory. A UK resident who is not British therefore follows the rules for their own passport on those routes. The Visa Waiver Program covers only citizens of participating countries, so a resident from outside it needs a visitor visa even for a short trip. The E-1 and E-2 visas need a treaty between the US and the applicant’s own country, and citizens of other Commonwealth countries cannot use the UK treaty.
Country of birth also decides Diversity Visa eligibility, and it shapes the wait for employment-based Green Cards. In 2026, applicants born in India and China faced waits of several years, particularly in EB-2.
Residence matters mostly for where the interview happens. Since July 15, 2026, temporary visa applicants are expected to apply where they hold citizenship or where they live, so a UK resident of another nationality can still apply at the US Embassy in London. An applicant who applies based on where they live must be able to show that residence.
Applying from the UK
Most applications from the UK follow the same order, whether the route leads to a temporary visa or a Green Card:
- Where the route needs a petition, it goes to USCIS first. The E-1, E-2, student and visitor visas need none.
- The applicant completes the online application, Form DS-160 for a temporary visa or Form DS-260 for an immigrant visa, and pays the visa fee.
- The applicant attends an interview at the US Embassy in London. Since October 1, 2025, temporary visa applicants generally need an in-person interview, and immigrant visa cases end with one as well.
- The visa goes into the passport. For UK citizens, E-1, E-2, H-1B and L-1 visas are issued for multiple entries and up to five years. The officer at the border then sets the length of each stay, which is recorded on Form I-94.
From a Green Card to US citizenship
A Green Card holder can usually apply for US citizenship after five years as a permanent resident, or after three years when married to a US citizen. The UK allows dual citizenship, so a Briton who becomes a US citizen can keep British citizenship under UK law.
Choosing where to start
Because a new H-1B job cannot start until the October after the lottery, a worker who needs to start sooner can look at the L-1 when the US employer belongs to the company they already work for. The O-1 is the other option when the worker’s record of awards, press coverage or leading roles meets its criteria. Without a job offer, the E-2 rests on the applicant’s own business and capital, and a marriage to a US citizen involves no queue for a visa.
Readers making the opposite move, from the US to the UK, follow the UK’s rules instead, which our guide to moving to the UK from the US sets out route by route.
The figures above were checked against USCIS, travel.state.gov and GOV.UK records as of October 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every immigration case depends on its own facts. For an assessment of your specific situation, consult an immigration attorney.
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