current u.s job market situation
Discussion
Hi guys,
Thought this would be the best place to ask and get some opinion on what the state of current u.s job markets like?
Background is myself and mrs CB are considering our future options and if moving abroad is one of those, We've ruled out the current clusterf
k that is europe and with the company mrs CB works for parent company being based in the states we're considering this as a more viable option.
Now my background is I'm a chrysler master tech but also have a great deal of experience with porsche and GM/pontiac, Is there a likelyhood of me being able to find viable employment in a reasonable timeframe?
As for the area we'd be looking either st louis MO or good old NYC.
Cheers CB
Thought this would be the best place to ask and get some opinion on what the state of current u.s job markets like?
Background is myself and mrs CB are considering our future options and if moving abroad is one of those, We've ruled out the current clusterf
k that is europe and with the company mrs CB works for parent company being based in the states we're considering this as a more viable option.Now my background is I'm a chrysler master tech but also have a great deal of experience with porsche and GM/pontiac, Is there a likelyhood of me being able to find viable employment in a reasonable timeframe?
As for the area we'd be looking either st louis MO or good old NYC.
Cheers CB
As usual - all of this hinges on visa eligibility.
Without taking a single thing away from your expertise, your qualifications and experience won't get you an employment based visa. There are just too many similarly qualified USC's looking for the same job that you are.
You say your wife (you are married, right?) works for a US-based company. How long has she worked for them - and in what capacity. If all the planets align, she could be a candidate for an L1 visa, which is an intra-company transfer, in this case. Assuming you are married, you would then qualify for L2, which would allow you to work in the US. That said, the sponsor (your wife's employer) is going to have to fork-out a lot of money and do a mountain of paperwork to make this happen, so there has to be something in it for them - which begs the question, "How will things improve for us, if we move Mrs ChryslerBen and her husband to the US?"
You have far better prospects if you are in the country and can meet with potential employers, discuss what makes you special and dazzle them with your cutesy English accent (that will work in MO, but not in NY). If you are already here on L2 and in possession of an Employment Authorization Document, they can treat you as they would any other potential employee (i.e. not have to sponsor you).
In summary, it's not easy - but it is worth it.
Without taking a single thing away from your expertise, your qualifications and experience won't get you an employment based visa. There are just too many similarly qualified USC's looking for the same job that you are.
You say your wife (you are married, right?) works for a US-based company. How long has she worked for them - and in what capacity. If all the planets align, she could be a candidate for an L1 visa, which is an intra-company transfer, in this case. Assuming you are married, you would then qualify for L2, which would allow you to work in the US. That said, the sponsor (your wife's employer) is going to have to fork-out a lot of money and do a mountain of paperwork to make this happen, so there has to be something in it for them - which begs the question, "How will things improve for us, if we move Mrs ChryslerBen and her husband to the US?"
You have far better prospects if you are in the country and can meet with potential employers, discuss what makes you special and dazzle them with your cutesy English accent (that will work in MO, but not in NY). If you are already here on L2 and in possession of an Employment Authorization Document, they can treat you as they would any other potential employee (i.e. not have to sponsor you).
In summary, it's not easy - but it is worth it.
awesome cheers matt great reply,
Its all just a pipe dream at the moment so really just trying to gauge what the chances are and as you say ive got to contend with the us home grown market which i'd imagine is a pretty hard task.
unfortunatly not yet married (booked for may next year) but mrs cb is in NY in a few weeks for a trade seminar so hopefully gonna talk with some contacts about the idea.
fingers crossed I suppose.
Its all just a pipe dream at the moment so really just trying to gauge what the chances are and as you say ive got to contend with the us home grown market which i'd imagine is a pretty hard task.
unfortunatly not yet married (booked for may next year) but mrs cb is in NY in a few weeks for a trade seminar so hopefully gonna talk with some contacts about the idea.
fingers crossed I suppose.
Good advice from Matt as always Ben, your big issue is going to be getting a Visa.
In the event that you did manage to get in you shouldn't find it too difficult finding work if Indy is anything to go by. I work for a JLR dealer and we have hired a few techs in the past year, there are main dealer tech jobs advertised every week here. Careerbuilder currently have 225 auto technician jobs advertised for Indiana alone, quite a few of them for Chrysler.
In the event that you did manage to get in you shouldn't find it too difficult finding work if Indy is anything to go by. I work for a JLR dealer and we have hired a few techs in the past year, there are main dealer tech jobs advertised every week here. Careerbuilder currently have 225 auto technician jobs advertised for Indiana alone, quite a few of them for Chrysler.
If your girfriend can get an L-1 then you can get an L-2 without being married, assuming you can prove a relationship (i.e. joint mortgage or rental agreement, bank accounts etc.). I found this out after I had followed the advice of an immigration attorney who told us we had to be married! The US consul didn't even want to see our marriage certificate... I now know numerous folk here on L-2 as unmarried partners.
Good luck!
Good luck!
I suspect you are referring to B2 'cohabiting partner' loophole, which is fraught with potential (nightmarish) issues, not least of which is that it has to be renewed every 6 months - and doesn't allow the beneficiary to work.
You absolutely cannot obtain an L2 unless you are married to, or are a dependent child of an L1.
You absolutely cannot obtain an L2 unless you are married to, or are a dependent child of an L1.
^^^^^^^^^^
What Matt said..
I have been here in US for over a year now, on a L1 visa, my girlfriend of 10 yrs, mortgage together etc in UK..
She does Not qualify for any work permit, in any way..
Plenty of info here : http://www.fayadlaw.com/immigration_faq.aspx
US immigration attorney guys know their stuff, a quick call or enquiry will get you the information you need.
What Matt said..
I have been here in US for over a year now, on a L1 visa, my girlfriend of 10 yrs, mortgage together etc in UK..
She does Not qualify for any work permit, in any way..
Plenty of info here : http://www.fayadlaw.com/immigration_faq.aspx
US immigration attorney guys know their stuff, a quick call or enquiry will get you the information you need.
Matt Harper said:
I suspect you are referring to B2 'cohabiting partner' loophole, which is fraught with potential (nightmarish) issues, not least of which is that it has to be renewed every 6 months - and doesn't allow the beneficiary to work.
You absolutely cannot obtain an L2 unless you are married to, or are a dependent child of an L1.
You absolutely can. In Texas, you can register a partnership (not the same as a marriage, I think any notary can do the paperwork) and that is enough for the immigration authorities. I accept that such a facility may not be available in other states, so it might not be an option. But I know several people who have L-2s and are not married. As I mentioned before, when my wife went to change her B-2 for an L-2, the consulate told her it wasn't necessary to be married - they didn't look at the marriage certificate. I am sure this is the nth time we have had this discussion, so we can agree to differ. I would hate for another bloke to have his hand forced in marriage in the same way as I did, unnecessarily! (Kidding, of course...)You absolutely cannot obtain an L2 unless you are married to, or are a dependent child of an L1.
Furthermore, I would add that immigration attorneys that I have dealt with are less than well informed. As with any professional you are dealing with, you shouldn't be afraid of questioning them or getting another opinion.
Sure, we can agree to differ - as long as anyone reading this isn't mis-informed by it and ends up in bother, as a result.
What you have suggested here doesn't really make sense. Texas has a reputation for independence, but I don't believe that extends to being independent of (Federal) immigration law.
An L2 (or any other non-immigrant visa) is not issued from within the US. It comes from the US Consulate in the country that the beneficiary resides in prior to entry into the US.
Having said all that, I live and learn. I would be really interested if you can show me anything official (i.e. from USCIS or INS) that is contrary to what I've expressed here, because if true would have implications for many thousands of visa petitions where this is an issue.
What you have suggested here doesn't really make sense. Texas has a reputation for independence, but I don't believe that extends to being independent of (Federal) immigration law.
An L2 (or any other non-immigrant visa) is not issued from within the US. It comes from the US Consulate in the country that the beneficiary resides in prior to entry into the US.
Having said all that, I live and learn. I would be really interested if you can show me anything official (i.e. from USCIS or INS) that is contrary to what I've expressed here, because if true would have implications for many thousands of visa petitions where this is an issue.
david968s said:
In Texas, you can register a partnership (not the same as a marriage, I think any notary can do the paperwork) and that is enough for the immigration authorities. I accept that such a facility may not be available in other states, so it might not be an option.
Surely immigration is a federal matter and state of residence has no bearing? Matt Harper said:
Sure, we can agree to differ - as long as anyone reading this isn't mis-informed by it and ends up in bother, as a result.
Matt, anyone basing their immigration application on what they read on Pistonheads probably deserves to get into bother! I only bring it up to highlight that there appears to be cases where what you are saying apparently isn't true.Matt Harper said:
What you have suggested here doesn't really make sense. Texas has a reputation for independence, but I don't believe that extends to being independent of (Federal) immigration law.
It is irrelevant because the official recognition of a partnership by a state has nothing to do with federal immigration law.Matt Harper said:
An L2 (or any other non-immigrant visa) is not issued from within the US. It comes from the US Consulate in the country that the beneficiary resides in prior to entry into the US.
True, and this may be the key to this anomaly. The job of the applicant is to convince the consulate that everything is genuine. In the UK, unmarried couples are common, unlike in the US and many other countries. As long as the consulate is satisfied that you are genuine partners, then that is probably enough. The best way to do this of course is to show them a marriage certificate, but if they can be convinced by other means, then that would presumably work too. That might explain why my wife didn't have to show the marriage certificate to the consulate - it was obvious to them what the situation was. I know for a fact that people have shown proof of relationship from Texas, and been granted an L-2 in London. Why would I make it up?
Matt Harper said:
Having said all that, I live and learn. I would be really interested if you can show me anything official (i.e. from USCIS or INS) that is contrary to what I've expressed here, because if true would have implications for many thousands of visa petitions where this is an issue.
I can't show you anything, it might not even exist, my friends might have lied to me or to the consulate, I might be wrong full stop. I am just relating my experience, which is based on more than one case I have known of, all with TX based people. One other route for the OP may be to go to Canada. This is probably a great deal easier than the USA and of course the skills he has would be just as relevent. There is a great deal of work in the automotive service field supporting work in the oil sands in the west of the country.
If the OP still wants to go to the US, I'd second everything Matt says. I'd look at going to areas in the US you'd like to consider moving to for a holiday and seriously ask yourself if you could hack it there for the 6+ years with the local costs and local rates of pay until the Green Card comes through.
If the OP still wants to go to the US, I'd second everything Matt says. I'd look at going to areas in the US you'd like to consider moving to for a holiday and seriously ask yourself if you could hack it there for the 6+ years with the local costs and local rates of pay until the Green Card comes through.
Thanks for the input fellas ive got abit more of an insight into the hurdles im gonna have to jump. As has been said im not going to take what gets posted on ph as gospel we still need to consult a imigration lawyer which luckily a friend of mine is but we still really appreciate the time you guys have taken to reply, myself and mrs cb have come to the conclusion that we dont particularly want to raise children in the uk and see the states as a viable alternate which hopefully we will be able to visit next year (mrs cb already goes several times a year to nyc) just need to wait and see how it plays out now.
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