EU citizen willing to move to USA and drive 18 wheeler

I don't know any about immigration to USA. But they is big need for more truck drivers. Lots of trucking company give free training but you have to agree to work for the like 1 or 2 years. They will train you, good you place to stay while training and feed you also. You will need you own place to stay and have address to get mail, once solo driving. Some guys in USA live with family members just get mail their and live in truck driving all the time.

You can see how training to get CDL works in USA if someone goes for the free training. Lots of trucking company do this kind of training to get new drivers

Prime Inc. Truck Driver Training | Paid Class-A CDL Training

 

This one is probably better because they pay you more money when training
CDL-A School

 

I would suggest contacting either the closest US Embassy or the US State Dept for assistance.

 

Millis Transfer recently got bought out by Heartless Express, so their programs could have changed. I know Heartless said they'd keep it run independently, but they are, after all, Heartless....

 

What side of the road do you drive on over there, I'm thinking switching sides maybe tricky at first.

 

There are recruitment sections of this forum where you might find some good leads. There's quite a few Eastern European companies operating out of the Chicago area, probably due to its central location, but be aware that a lot of them seem geared toward taking advantage of immigrants thru substandard pay on what's called a 1099 system.

A 1099 is a tax form used by companies who hire other companies, thus it is exempt from normal employee benefits.

In this country, taxes and benefits are deducted from employee paychecks. So if your pay is $1000 for a week, your actual paycheck might only be $700, because things like tax withholding, health insurance and retirement funds have been automatically deducted. What many of these 1099 companies will do is have you create your own corporation, which is pretty easy, and then pay you like $800 per week as subcontractor corporation on a 1099. It's a larger paycheck, but it's actually less pay, because none of those benefits have been paid for, so now you have to use the $800 to buy health insurance and pay taxes at the end of the year, etc.

1099's aren't necessarily evil though. Just be aware that if you're getting paid thru 1099, then you should get paid at least 50% more than a typical employee is getting paid for the same work.

P.S. Those are some beautiful drawings.

 

You ain’t from Transylvania, are ya?

 

@Chinatown
Maybe he can help

 

There are a few problems with your plan. Immigrating to the US can take years and cost tens of thousands of euros. The line is long and there are several million people ahead of you. While the US does offer work visas for skilled professionals and other special classes truck driving isn’t considered a skilled profession for immigration purposes. Even if it were you’re not a truck driver yet. Work visas aren’t given for people who want to come to the US to learn a job. There are education visas but not for truck driving.

Your best bet is to get your CDL and some experience driving a truck then apply for a visa in a country that does offer work visas for truck drivers. Canada offers both temporary work visas and a path to citizenship for truck drivers. I recommend Quebec - you can transfer your EU CDL to a Canadian CDL with a simple written test there - no residency, schooling or other requirements. You can then transfer your Quebec CDL for one from the province of your choice. The best part about a Canadian CDL is that Canada and the US have 100% CDL reciprocity - you can drive a truck in any US state with it. You should have no problem finding an employer that has loads going to the US.