British Truckers Abroad

Hi
I found this forum this evening and joined so wanted to introduce myself. I am a UK citizen, operated my own trucking company in the UK for 20 years before moving out to Florida, USA over 2 years ago. I have my own work authority and have 2 trucks on the road in the USA. I have no regrets about our move to the USA. I am making good money out here, its hard work like trucking anywhere but the USA is a wonderful country and it is the land of opportunity if you are prepared to work hard. I haven't had any shortage of work since I started trucking in the USA and I would encourage anyone who is thinking of emigrating from the UK and who wants to stay in trucking to look at the USA. We are on E visas so you do need to have funds available to show investment in the country in order to get your E visa but I am of the view that the investment we made was well worth it and I hope to be here for many years to come. If I can be of help to anyone thinking about moving to the USA then please do not hesitate to get in touch with me - peter@darngavilenterprises.com

Thanks and I look forward to being an active member of this forum.

Peter

Hello Peter,

Welcome to the forum. It's nice to have a new member who lives in the States, because as you are aware its very hard for the normal "man in the street" to emigrate there.

I think a lot of drivers would prefer the States but have to settle for Canada as its easier to get into.

I think unless you have plenty of money, the investment option would be a non starter for most of us though. Glad to see you are doing well in your new life.

How easy is it to gain entry if you have a job offer from a US company?

We look forward to your input.

Andy

Hi Andy

Thanks for the welcome. I've no idea how easy it is to get into the States via a company job offer. I currently employ one American driver (great guy) but I know that for my company to try and employ foreign nationals there is a long hard process to go through.
The E2 route is probably the easiest way for UK citizens to get into the USA but you're right it does require having funds available but as I said in my first post - in my experience so far the investment has been well worth it, not just financially but for quality of life. My wife and I are well settled here, we have 2 kids, 8 and 13 years and they love school here, took them a little while to settle but they are right into the way of life here now. I am no expert on USA visas I just now about the route we took to get here but I do have some good contacts for people over here who know the immigration systems and who helped us. I can give contact numbers if anyone wants them. I don't think there is any limit set on how much investment you have to make to get an E2, I have heard of people getting it for $50,000 investment and others $150,000 and over. I think it boils down a lot to potential turnover, a good business plan and of course doing what you say you are going to do as set out in the business plan. The good thing about the trucking industry here is that the potential is there to make good money and have turnover rates at the level the authorities want to see to continue with the E2 status.

Peter

Hello Peter,
your couple of posts have got me intrigued

I have a decent amount of investment and personnel funds at this time and am being made redundant from my current job (there 22 years ) in Feb 2011 with a good payoff package.
I always knew there was some kind of "investment visa" for the States but thought you needed BIG $$$$ to apply for it but the $50k-$150k would be well within my grasp

I was an O/D here in NI from 04 to 08 on artic bulk tipping work out of the local quarries (employed a full time driver and I drove on my days off).
So have a little bit of experience running my own business and was smart enough to sell up before the big construction crash in the UK.
Also have a small amount of trucking experience in the States(and out of date CDL) from a harvest job for 8 months in 2002.

How did you go about getting your business plan for the E2 visa and what size of investment did you need to make
Are you running OTR in your trucking business and did you lease on to a company to begin with
Are you van/reefer or flat bed
I would have no problems at all "working hard" but I'm not interested at all in the 10/14 nights away "trucking lifestyle",so is there much short haul say 3/4 nights out up/down the South East coast of the States etc

Hi

Hopefully I can answer your questions,
My wife wrote my business plan - she worked for the Scottish Government Justice Department for nearly 20 years so has a lot of experience writing business plans, financial forecasts etc. Basically the plan set out a bit of background information, short, medium and long term objectives for my company in the USA, how it was being financed, financial forecasts and that was it.
When we came to the States originally we got the E2 on the basis of my wife buying a business which got me my USA work authority, I took a job with a trucking company to see if USA trucking suited me - it did so I started my own company bought 2 trucks 2 trailers and when our E2 came up for renewal we changed it to my trucking company and got approved. Total investment on the trucking side for us was approx $130,000. It is difficult to get companies/brokers to give you work when you start a company if you have no USA trucking experience but the time I spent working for the company when I first moved to the States gave me the experience that companies/brokers are looking for before they give you work. I don't lease on, I have my own motor carrier operating authority. I have 2 reefer trailers. I run over the road mainly Florida to Texas then out to Arizona or California then back to Florida. I can average between 5 and 8 nights out as I'm not a fan of too many nights out in the one trip but when you're only going in one direction out and one back it doesn't feel too bad. Yes you can work up and down the South East coast being away for 3/4 days at a time and earn a living but the better money is doing the bigger miles and a good turnover looks better to keep your E2 going when it comes up for renewal.
One of the biggest problems was getting insurance because I didn't have a lot of USA driving experience but we provided copies of my driving record, my CPC, and a criminal history check from the UK showing that I had no convictions and we got the insurance cover we needed.
If you are thinking about trucking in the States then what I would suggest is contacting a business broker in the States - you could for example buy a business package which included a truck and trailer and contract work and lease on to my company or any company or go get your own motor carrier operating authority (cpc equivalent). The business package price is the investment amount which would be used to go for your E2 and the good thing is that using a business broker if you don't get your E2 approved you don't part with the money.
Please remember that this is my own experience and its worked for us so far! We dealt with a business broker and an immigration consultant before making any decisions to move here. Thankfully its all worked out and been a very positive experience so far.
Hope this information helps and if I can help you any further then please don't hesitate to contact me.

Peter

Thank you Peter,
this E2 visa thing seems to be real eye opener and you seem to be living a very good life in the sunshine State

Does your business broker contact have a website
Does your trucking company have one
I take it there is more info on the E2 visa on the INS website
What made you and your family decide to settle in Florida and did you look at any other States
How where you able to get a CDL and take up employment before you started your trucking company business or are you able to work as a "company employee" for a temp period under the E2 visa rules
How often is the E2 visa "renewed" and is there any kind of built in security like say you have a real bad earning year and the business turnover is very low,what happens then

Sorry for all the questions.

Hey, no probs re the questions, if I can help anyone then I am more than happy to do so. I go back out on the road tomorrow so there may be a delay in me replying unless I can convince my wife to answer on my behalf!

Re your questions:
The business broker we used was Susan Barnes of Rock Rose, I think her website is www.rockroserealty.com Susan is a bit all over the place at times but she knows her stuff and was good for us (there's no commission here just in case anyone was wondering!)
I don't have a website yet. I have purchased the domain name Darngavilenterprises.com but haven't got round to setting up the website yet - that's on my wife's list of things to do but I haven't told her that yet!
If you are looking for more info on E2 I would suggest going to www.USCIS.gov that's the official US government immigration services website.
We didn't look at any other States, we had vacationed in Florida since early 1990's and bought a house here in 2003/04 - we loved it here. Got to a stage in the UK where I couldn't make money in trucking anymore and decided to make the move.
I was able to get my CDL and take up employment before I started my own company because my wife bought a business which got us the E2 initially she was the main E2 holder and I got my work authority on the back of that which allowed me to get my CDL and take up employment. My wife's E2 also let me start my own company. We were here for the first 2 years on my wife's E2 but when that came up for renewal earlier this year we submitted the E2 application in my company name as I have the much higher turnover/profit margin and I could prove the investment and it was approved.
For us, we are currently on E2 renewals of 2 years. I know people that have 5 year E2s.
As for built in security if you have a bad year - I don't know. My own personal view is that there is no in built security. I think we will be ok and have the levels of turnover/profit required (whatever they are!) but I know that there is a certain degree of risk involved. My wife and I took the view that if we don't take the risk now we never will so we done it! We know a couple from London who came out here before us had a dreadful year and didn't start actually trading for nearly 16 months after they got their first E2 approved (they are not in trucking) so they virtually made nothing their first 2 years but they got their E2 renewal approved when the 2 year time limit was up.
In my experience, all I can say is that I think every case goes through immigration or not on its own merits. You can listen to me about my experience and, yes so far it has worked for us and i hope that it continues to work for us. But you've got to be sure that this is the move you want and be prepared for a different way of life. We love the USA but it is very different from the UK - that's not a negative just a word of advice to be prepared for a very good but different way of life!

Peter

Thanks Peter,
some very useful info there.

What make of trucks do you run
I will take a guess that you haul fruit/veg out of FL and meat out of TX and some kind of other produce back from CA
Do you have to deal with grocery warehouses/lumpers alot
Does your work come mostly via brokers/agents and is it steady year round
Do you idle the trucks 24/7 while OTR
After a 5/8 day run how long at homebase before you hit the road with a load again and as your running a business, have you much time for the odd short holiday with the wife and kids

As I have an out of date USA CDL(doubles/triples/hazmat/tanks) issued in ND 2002, do you think it would just be a matter of doing the theory test again at a DOT centre to get it renewed

The E2 visa is a very interesting development for myself/family(wife/two wee boys 4+2) and the fact that I have already been over on a H2A temp work visa and still have my SS number that would help with an E2 application too

If I send an email enquiry to Susan Barnes is it OK to mention your name?

BTW,

We went to Florida for three weeks in 2000 on our honeymoon (Naples/cruise/Miami Beach/Key West) and loved it too,just haven't had the time to get back again.

Hi

Re the time off question first - I came home last Saturday, had been away for 10 days, was going to go back out on Tuesday this week but weather has been fab and after a quite cool Winter (I daren't say cold after the weather the UK has been getting) I decided to stay home for a few more days as the kids are off school on spring break. I am going back out tomorrow! The good thing about working under your own authority or leasing onto a company is that you can have as much time off as you want, it all boils down to how much you want/need to earn and the life/work balance and only you can determine that. In my case, from March last year, I was home on average 4 days every two weeks - some weeks I went out for 5 days back for 2 other trips I was out for say 8 to 10 days and off fro 3 or 4 days. I took over a week off last May, I had 3 weeks off (not all in the one go) over the Summer and I took 2 weeks off over Christmas. As there is a lot to do in Florida and the weather is good most of the time we tend to stay here when I am off or go to Sarasota, St Pete's, Daytonna etc for a few days at the beach.
I have a Peterbilt 379 and a Frieghtliner Classic xl. The product varies. I hauled a lot of meat when I worked for the company at the beginning over here. Sometimes I look to go with the produce loads which move around different States depending on the time of year, produce loads can pay very good money but can be a complete pain the you know where, take ages to get loaded and unloaded etc but as they say you don't get the good money for nothing! Sometimes I run plants, frozen loads even took a load of bowling euipment one time from Virginia to Fl. So its very varied.
You get the lumpers maybe on average once or twice out of every 10 loads, lumper fees always get reimbursed by the company you are doing the work for so they are no big deal - although always make sure you have cash in your pocket to pay them! Sometimes you can do the unloading yourself and then you make a few extra bucks as the lumper fee comes to you but I tend to leave it to the lumper guys and use the unloading time to catch up on the paperwork.
Most of my work comes through brokers/agents and so far I've had very steady work, I haven't had any times when I couldn't get work. The media and the American Truckers Association talk from time to time about a truck driver shortage in the USA - I don't know if that's true or not but all I can say is that I haven't had any problems so far getting work (I hope that continues!)
Idling the trucks is the big issue right now, more and more States are bringing in no idling rules. Personally, I have never idled my truck 24/7, its not good for the engine or the pocket! But sometimes I've seen myself having to crank the engine up for a few hours - its either that or die so, on occasion I opt for idling. You can fit a generator that works an a/c system and a heating system and also gives you power for electrical appliances, I think they run about $8,000 to $9,000 but I am going to invest in one this year before the hot hot Summer comes in.
As for your CDL, I think you will need to take the theory test and the 3 day refresher course. Because I had the experience from the UK they agreed that I could take just the 3 day refresher and then sit the CDL test.
By all means mention my name to Susan. I've already mentioned to her that I'm happy to work with people to help with trucking business packages that would meet E2 requirements. If you want to have a chat over the phone about it send me your number and I'll give you a call or I can pm you my phone number.

Peter

There is some good info coming out of these posts, well done guys.


Peter,

Whats the story with your driving licence? When you go to the States do they recognise your car licence or do you have to take the whole lot again? Did you go over with an international driving licence to start with? Is the CDL valid in all States, IE; if you were to move to another State would they just swap the licence over or would you have to do another test/training etc?

How long are you expected to keep renewing your E2 visa before you can apply for Permanent Residence?


Regards

Andy

Very interesting information Peter, thanks.
We have access to a condo in Bradenton, but, unfortunately not enough brass to go the economic route to actually living there, so will keep enjoying the hols in such a beautiful part of the world.

Hi Andy

I posted a reply to you earlier today but it seems to have got lost in cyberspace!
Re your car licence, you need to sit your florida car test as your uk licence doesn't count. You need to get your immigration papers approved before you can go for your car licence so eg if you went the E2 route you need to get that approved before you go for your car test. Once you pass the car test you then sit the CDL theory test then you need to go for the 3 day CDL refresher or the 1 week or 2 week full training (UK truck drivers should only need the refresher coarse, in my opinion). Your Florida CDL is valid in all States. I don't know how it transfers if you move to another State you would need to speak to the driver licence office in whichever state you were moving to.

There is no route from E2 to permanent residency. Although there are a few lobby groups trying to get congress to put legislation in which would allow people who have E2s for 5 years to apply for residency, I think they are at draft bill stage.
There are lots and lots of different options to get residency but again I would advise you speak to an immigration professional. We are happy to be here working and living on the E2, its not as ideal as perm residency but you never know one day there maybe something that can get us perm residency. As far as I am aware, you can stay on E2 for the rest of your life as long as you keep the nose clean and keep the turnover/profit rolling to show that you are not and will not be a burden on the country.

Peter

hi peter
ive just come across this site and your posts.
I'm a uk citizen who has married a us citizen we're currently living in south carolina and im currently in the finnal stages of obtaining my green card (next 3 weeks hopefully).
I was a trucker in the uk and would be greatfull for any help, advice or contacts you could give me as to obtain a CDL and hopefully employment.
All the driver schools ive spoken to say i have to start from the bottom as my uk experience means nothing here are they right or is there a short cut into getting a CDL.

Brit.

Hi Brit

Peter is out on the road (somewhere in Texas!) this is Peter's wife, Jackie. When we first came here the CDL schools told Peter the same - ie that the UK experience didn't count. However, we're not the type of people to go down without a fight so Peter explained to them that he had driven in the UK and over europe and operated his own trucking company for over 20 years, we gave them references from people that Peter had worked for etc and the CDl school agreed that he could take the 3 day refresher course rather than the full blown training (I'll get the name of the school that Peter went to tomorrow when I speak to him and send you the details). He done that and passed. We then had the decision to make of whether Peter would start his own trucking company or go to work for a trucking company. We decided that peter would work for a company to begin with to see if he liked trucking in the USA before taking the plunge to start his own company and get his own authority. A few companies that he spoke to wouldn't take him on as he didn't have the USA experience but then National Carriers took him on. Peter worked for them for 8 months and to be fair we don't really have any complaints about that company, other than you don't really make a lot of money! Peter then decided that USA trucking was ok for him so he left National Carriers, and got his own Authority. The only real issue that we had with getting his own authority was the insurance as the insurance was a bit wary about giving him insurance and were not going to take his UK experience into account. I sent the insurance company copies of Peter's authority documents, operating licence etc from the UK and that was enough for them to give him insurance. Once Peter got his own authority, bought truck and trailer etc he got set up with CH Robinson and various other companies (Allen Lund, JB HUnt - can't remember them all) and he works with them all getting work. We are now nearly 2 years down the line and touch wood Peter is doing well, making really good money and has 2 trucks on the road now. If you had the means to get your own truck and trailer then I'm sure Peter would consider letting you lease on and work under his authority, if that is an option that you would like to consider, I think for insurance purposes we would need a copy of your driving record/history from the UK but Peter will know more about that side of things than me!
We love the USA, best decision we ever made was coming here. I hope it all works out for you, if you would like Peter to speak to you, pm me your phone number and I will get peter to give you a call.

Best wishes

Jackie