I currently live in London with my partner and our son, after my first trip to California in September, I am now desperate to move there. I approached a few immigration lawyers/attorneys for advice, they all want a substantial sum for a consultation. I am reluctant to pay a large sum of money when I have no idea of my chances, I don't want to be strung along, plus I'm aware of a lot of scams so it's put me off even more! (how do you know these companies are verified/legit?)

My intention is to immigrate to CA to work/live on a permanent basis, we have no immediate family that can sponsor us (yet), it could be years before my partner's father has his citizenship.

Before anyone says "just wait a few years", we don't want to, we are fed up with the UK.

If my only option is to approach this as a 'non-immigrant' and look at temp visa options, what would people recommend? In my position, should someone look to enter the US on a Tourism visa then casually look for work? If you found a job could you even get employed as you aren't a resident, you are basically on a long holiday.

Any advice on this would be great, apologies if I haven't been clear.

Also, if anyone could recommend a legitimate immigration firm to speak with, that would be great. I've read that someone in a similar position approached their local consulate however their advice resulted in them being denied entry so I may avoid this.