In short: the UK costs more to enter but is faster and more predictable, the US is cheaper for the worker but entry is a lottery and status has become fragile. Both admit people almost only through an employer; neither has a visa for remote workers or the self-employed. In 2025-2026 the US put the strongest pressure on legal residents in our sample, while in the UK a worker's status depends on the employer's licence. In our ranking the United Kingdom is 42nd of 97 and the United States 91st.
If you have an offer from a licensed sponsor and a salary of at least £41,700 a year: a decision in 3-8 weeks, settlement after 5 years for now, citizenship after about 6, and your spouse can work at once. You pay in money and in dependence on the company: a five-year visa for a family of three costs £19,084, and if the employer loses its licence your permission is cut to 60 days through no fault of your own.
If an employer will sponsor an H-1B and you win the lottery: the employer pays the visa fees, only 2.1% of petitions are refused, your family gets visas with you with no income threshold, and federal tax on a typical salary is about 11.2-11.5% plus state tax. But petitions take 9-10.5 months, a green card realistically takes 5-8 years, an H-4 spouse cannot work by default, and in 2025-2026 the government cancelled statuses already granted on a mass scale.
United Kingdom is stronger in 6 of 7 areas, United States in 1.
For those who get through selection, much is convenient: the family comes with the worker with no income threshold, free public school is open to any child, and a bank account opens with a passport and an address. But pressure on legal residents is now the strongest in our sample: in 2025 status was cancelled for about 900,000 people who had entered legally through the CBP One app, and more than 4,700 foreign student records were terminated. Since 11 April 2025 every foreigner aged 14 or over must register and report a change of address within 10 days. Rules change overnight: the $100,000 fee on new petitions was introduced at two days' notice and stayed in force for nine months until a court struck it down.
Once you hold a work visa, life is convenient: your spouse can work at once, there is no separate income threshold for family, school is free and there are no compulsory integration courses. But entry is expensive and narrow, and government policy is openly aimed at cutting migration. The main pressure comes through employers: in 2025 the Home Office revoked a record 3,100 sponsor licences, and their workers' permission was cut to 60 days. Digital eVisa status adds trouble: system failures have kept people with valid permission off flights to the UK.
The UK rules are straightforward: an offer from a licensed sponsor and a salary of at least £41,700 a year. In the US you first have to win the H-1B lottery for 85,000 places, and the fiscal 2027 cap was filled by 17 July 2026.
The UK: the standard is 3 weeks from abroad and 8 weeks inside the country, and it is mostly met. In the US a petition took 9-10.5 months in 2026 unless you pay $2,965 for premium processing, and then a consular interview appointment can take months.
For the worker, the US: the employer pays the H-1B fees, and a family of three pays about $6,100 at the green card stage. In the UK a five-year visa for a family of three costs £19,084, three quarters of it in health surcharge.
The UK: settlement after 5 years for now, citizenship after about 6. In the US an employer-sponsored green card realistically takes 5-8 years and citizenship another 5, 10-13 years in all. Both allow dual citizenship.
Neither is safe. In the UK permission is cut to 60 days to find a new sponsor. In the US a grace period of up to 60 days is discretionary, not a right, and in 2025-2026 the government cancelled statuses already granted on a mass scale.
The UK is stronger in almost every area of the ranking: faster decisions, a shorter path to citizenship and full family rights, though you pay a lot for them. The US is slightly ahead on settling in and cheaper for the worker, but status there is now noticeably less secure.
Every fact on this page comes from the country pages, where the sources are listed. Checked 01/10/2026.