My Body: US, My Brain: UK

Greetings all!

My name is Holly.  I'm a pastry chef living in the States, but with every fibre of my being, long to be in England.  I spend most of my time watching panel shows, ordering UK food products online, supporting charities, and reading the papers, to keep up on the news over there.

I've been taking holidays over there for the past few years, and nowhere else I've ever been has spoke to me quite the way England has. I feel home there and I feel like I truly belong there.  It's really hard to explain to anyone else, but I would imagine many of you understand my feelings.  

So, in the fall of last year, I began looking into a T2 Visa.  At that time, I met all the requirements for my profession, which was on the shortage occupations list.  In April, there were changes made to the requirements for my profession, and now I no longer meet the salary requirement.

I am utterly devastated.  I want nothing more in life than to be able to live, work and contribute to the UK and I feel like I'll never be able.  

I don't know where to look or what to do, and maybe someone here will have some input for me.

I mean, I can't be the ONLY person on forums like this that didn't MARRY someone or had some amazingly awesome skill that granted them a T1 visa.  There HAVE to be people out there in a similar boat as me, aren't there?!?

I am at wits' end and really need all the help I can get with some direction on how to get there.  

I don't have the first clue what to do now that the requirements have changed.  

So, here I sit, miserable in the States, feeling more and more out of touch things, and wondering will I ever make it over the pond to where I feel I fit in.  

Any advice or help or anything??

Holly  

Edit: I just realised in my haste of posting this that I suppose maybe I should have posted in the Visa forum.  Sorry.  Just a bit befuddled ol' me, I guess.   

Probably the only other option would be to become a student in the UK. It's expensive but it will allow you to live in the UK.

When you mean student, you mean attending university in England or doing a study abroad program from the States? 

I have a bit of a worry about this, as I'm way past typical 'student' age.  I'm in my mid thirties now.

Hi polymathholly, welcome to UKY 

I hear you, Scotland just called to me and I am on a work visa myself. But the rules were very different 4 years ago.  So I can only offer my sympathies about the visa changes, as the gov't sure likes to kick worker bees really hard these days. 

Student visa, I am pretty sure means studying for a University level or above degree, but the visa experts will be along at somepoint.  There are folks of all ages on these boards who come on student visas!

Good luck!!!