The partner at home

If you moved for your partner’s job, the first year can be harder for you than for them. In the US, whether you can work depends entirely on your own visa, and the rules differ sharply between visa types.

Can you work?

Your right to work comes from your own immigration status, not your partner’s job offer. Spouses and children usually hold a “derivative” status: a status that depends on the main visa holder’s. Check the letters on your I-94 (the online arrival record from US Customs and Border Protection) and your visa stamp.

More detail on each route: Visa routes to the USA.

L-2 and E-2 spouses: the “S” on your I-94

Since a 2021 court settlement, USCIS treats L-2 and E-2 spouses as allowed to work without a separate permit. From 31 January 2022, CBP started marking spouses’ I-94s with an “S” (for example “L-2S” or “E-2S”). An employer can accept that I-94 as proof you can work on Form I-9, the right-to-work check every new employee completes.

• Download your I-94 from the CBP website after you arrive and check the class of admission shows the “S”
• If it doesn’t, ask CBP to correct it, or apply for an EAD instead: without one or the other, an employer can’t accept you
• Your right to work ends when your I-94 ends, so keep extensions in step with your partner’s

H-4 spouses: the H-4 EAD

Most H-4 spouses can’t work at first. You become eligible for an EAD only once your H-1B partner is the main beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 (a green card petition), or holds H-1B time beyond 6 years under AC21. You then file Form I-765 and can start work only once the card arrives.

• The fee is $520 by post (about £385). USCIS lists $470 for online filing, but H-4 applicants have been told to file by post: check the current instructions
• The EAD normally ends on the same date as your H-4 I-94
• Renewals filed on or after 30 October 2025 no longer get the automatic extension of up to 540 days. You can file up to 180 days before expiry. Practitioners reported waits of roughly 6 to 15 months in mid-2026
• Filing your renewal together with your partner’s H-1B extension has often been quicker

Getting your skills recognised

Many jobs need a state licence even when your status lets you work: nursing, teaching, law, accountancy, medicine and many trades. Rules are set state by state. See Getting your qualifications recognised and Finding a job in the USA.

• Get UK references and transcripts now, while former employers are easy to reach
• Order certified copies of certificates before you leave
• A credential evaluation (a report converting UK qualifications into US equivalents) is often the first step
• Volunteering or a short local course can give you a US reference for your résumé (CV)

Money while one of you earns

If you can’t work yet, you won’t have your own US income or credit record. Ask to be added as an authorised user on your partner’s credit card so you start building a history: see Building a US credit score. If you can’t get a Social Security number, you may need an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) for a joint tax return: see Social Security numbers and US tax.

Building a routine

Partners often say the hardest part is the gap between the excitement of arriving and having a reason to leave the house. What helps:

1. Fix two or three regular commitments in your first fortnight: a class, a sports club, a volunteering shift
2. Take over one “settling in” project, such as the house hunt or school research, so you meet people through it
3. Keep a set time to talk to family in the UK that suits both time zones
4. Agree how money and big decisions work while only one of you earns
5. Give it a date: plan to review how you’re feeling after 3 and 6 months

Finding your people

Schools, libraries, community centres, places of worship and volunteer groups are the usual starting points. Ideas: Making friends in the USA.