Big Truck:
Micky B:
Hi Guys
I’m a long distance trucker in the UK…I was thinking about coming to America as a trucker but I have heard some bad stories…One guy went to the USA , and was back in the UK in 4 weeks telling me it was better back in the UK…Can you Americans enlighten us Brits about the truth.You can’t just go and drive in USA as not possible unless you’ve a green card etc.
Only way is via TWP/PNP in Canada or H2A temp work visa and drive truck for a USA Custom Cutter on the wheat/corn/soybean harvests.[emoji6]
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As Big Truck says the best and only easy way to get to drive in US is on a H2A Visa.
These are for temporary (3 years max I think) agricultural workers.
Assuming you don’t want to go milking cows then you want to join a harvest crew out in the mid west. With your previous truck driving experience they will put you on the trucks that transport the grain from the field to the silo.
She will be probably about a 20 year old 500hp Artic with a 13 speed crash box but like most things American she will look way way better than she drives.
Even more freaking amazing is you only need a US car licence to drive her in this type of agricultural work.
Hard work, camp living, weather delays but some good experiences with modest pay & craic.
There are genuine UK recruiters for this harvest work and they usually get active around Christmas time for an April start, 6 month contract. Start googling.
There is at least one guy on here who is years over there now in this type of work (but mostly on spanners now) and I guessing he might have started out this way.
Unless you are a very bored young lad you do not want to do distance work (OTR) in the US.
If you can get the visa described by Pat Hassler above, you deserve to join NASA but there are loads and loads of driving jobs if that’s your thing.
The pay is total crap for most novices and the systems they use to calculate your pay would do your nut in.
The wagons look way better than they drive but some are very fast for sure.
The worst thing is the size of the country…the road goes on forever and many of the roads are a real bore with annoying 55mph speed limits. Being out for 6 to 12 weeks at a time is not unusual.
You are running the gauntlet of scales on every state line and then it gets worse…you arrive in California. All fines are out of your pocket and all holdups are at your expense.
However the way things are going here where the height of adventure is listening to BS in an RDC for crap money too then some will certainly enjoy across the pond.
There are some good driving jobs if you can climb up the ladder a bit.
I came back a few years ago now as Euro work here was better in my opinion at the time 
so things may well have changed in the US but whether for better or worse I cannot say.
Stevejones is a good man to follow too if you want pros and cons as he has recent experience of both ans doesn’t sugar coat it.
my 2 cents worth but don’t hesitate to give it a go and best of luck to anyone who does.
EDIT: during an oil crisis some years ago the Federal Government forced the states to reduce the limit to 55mph and afterwards some states were years slower than others to raise it again much to an OTR driver’s frustration.
As Pat points out below almost all states (California perhaps excepted) are now at least 65 mph on divided highways and some are much higher.