Currently we have 2 plans. Either I manage to get a position with a company that will sponsor me. I have around 10 years in software development and telecomms so I'm hoping that shouldnt be too hard. Otherwise we will have to go the spousal visa route with her step dad sponsoring her as we dont have 100K in cash that would be required for a family unit size of 3 (Poverty guidelines).
I hope to be able to pick up some hints and tips on how to do this, and meet some people so when we do move over we already have some friends.
Hi and welcome to Britnet!
As you have said, your visa choices are spousal visa (IR1), or a non-immigrant work visa (H1B).
The H1B obviously requires a firm job offer - but, if you have a firm job offer, then you should be able to meet the criteria for your I-864 Affidavit of Support. There is an element of judgment for the I-864 - the paperwork focusses on past income, evidenced by the 1040 federal tax return, but common sense says that your future income is more important. When we went through the spousal visa process, they were happy enough that we passed the past 3 year income requirement, but they were more interested in the US job.
If you and your wife have been working in the UK for the past 3 years, and are able to meet the poverty requirements on that income, plus a firm job offer or good prospects in the US, then there really shouldn't be a problem. If you have a house in the UK, an estate agent's valuation can also add some oomph (but you need 5x in capital what you would need in earnings). One thing to understand is that they want to give you your visa and allow your wife and child return to the place where they belong.
BTW, the 125% federal poverty levels for a family of 3 is $20112 (or about £12k). To go the simplest route, your wife would need to have earned at least £12k per year, but if you are married and have been living together for at least 6 months, your salary can be taken into account as well.
The Embassy are being funny about who they will process visas for in-house, and your wife would need to write to them explaining your situation and ask that they process you - you don't automatically qualify unless she has UK permanent residency. If they do process (aka Direct Consular Filing - DCF), then it's a three-month process. If not, then you would have to go the K3 route, which takes a similar time but only leads to a non-immigrant visa, which you convert to an immigrant visa once you are in the US.
If you go the H1B route, this leads to a non-immigrant visa, and you would have to convert to a spousal visa once you are in the US. This process is known as Adjustment of Status.