Tips For Relocating to USA/Western Europe

Hello everyone,

I'm currently an intern in a Big4 firm working in Advisory in Eastern Europe and will become an A1 analyst in a few months. I want to move to the USA or Western Europe in 2-3 years time but I feel lost on what should I do now. Should I look for an MBA program or pursue an internal relocation? Any tips & ideas are much appreciated.

Thanks,

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I fully agree that for an Eastern European it will be easier to move to Western Europe vs the US, but don't you think OP would be better off pursuing an internal transfer in their Big 4? Granted of course that they're not in a group requiring local knowledge e.g. Tax ("Advisory" can mean many things in Big 4 I reckon).

Also, MBA-wise, I'm not sure that LBS would be cheaper than the US ones (tuitions are broadly aligned and London is expensive AF vs any US city save for NYK and SF I guess)... No clue about the difference in selectivity.

MSc would instead be surely more affordable and they would do the trick for entry level roles in the UK.

 

Try to get into a US T10 MBA program.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

It depends on what your ultimate goal is and the reasons behind them.

1) Is the goal to live and permanently reside in the US for the rest of your life? Then I'd consider investing the right amount of money for the education, investment visa or business visa. This, however, can also work as an internal transfer.

2) Is the goal to only spend a limited time in Western Europe and/or the US? I would not invest a large amount of funds but seek easier routes into the countries.

Internal transfers happen all the time, I have seen them across multiple industries and companies.

If you are not married yet and want a more permanent residence in the US - dating/marriage is also a solution.

The initial, relevant visa avenues should be L for the transfer, E1/E2 for either personal investment or transfer (depends on details), F visa for students, H1b for transfer or post F, E3 if you hold Australian citizenship, O if you have extraordinary skills. J should no longer apply to professionals (J could apply post degree though!)

There is, unfortunately, no working holiday visa in the USA.

the list is not complete, of course, and a legal professional may provide further assistance.

edit: the information stated above and list of visa types is only relevant for a move to the US. I do not have any information for other Western EU countries.

 

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