Christmas in California.
Discussion
Looking for a bit of advice.
Coming to America for a month, probably coming over about Dec 23rd, and staying till nearly the end of Jan.
Coming with the girlfriend, I know we don't need visa's, got car rental sorted, the intention is to send a blanket load of emails off before we go to all the businesses in a similar area to mine to see if I can secure any interest in a job, going to spend the month driving round trying to find someone to sponsor me for my green card.
How hard do you think it will be? I am 26, Emma is 19 (and to be honest I think she's just after a holiday, doubt she would move with me, so ignore her it will just be me. I'm uni educated, no criminal record, and my business is restoring classic british and german cars.
I know to move you really need to be pretty wealthy or have a unique skill, to be honest I am neither of those things!
Help! Anyone done something similar?
Coming to America for a month, probably coming over about Dec 23rd, and staying till nearly the end of Jan.
Coming with the girlfriend, I know we don't need visa's, got car rental sorted, the intention is to send a blanket load of emails off before we go to all the businesses in a similar area to mine to see if I can secure any interest in a job, going to spend the month driving round trying to find someone to sponsor me for my green card.
How hard do you think it will be? I am 26, Emma is 19 (and to be honest I think she's just after a holiday, doubt she would move with me, so ignore her it will just be me. I'm uni educated, no criminal record, and my business is restoring classic british and german cars.
I know to move you really need to be pretty wealthy or have a unique skill, to be honest I am neither of those things!
Help! Anyone done something similar?
Oliver -
No 1; Good on you for having the gumption to go over to the US and try your luck. Superb experience to work overseas and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
No 2: As you already know, you can carve our 1 week to 10 days from your month due to Christmas/New Year as there are a large number of companies in CA who do effectively close down over the Christmas period.
No 3; Being a realist, and having gone through the Green Card process myself whilst living in the US from 1999-2005, to manage your expectations, this could be a very tough experience with potentially minimal success. There are precious few firms aware of the detail/cost of the green card process in my experience, and those that do, generally have a lot of people already on various working visas who are in a line to get sponsored for the Green Card. Your business case in terms of sponsorship will need to be extremely strong given the number of people seeking green card status, and I am doubtful given currently H1 visa restrictions and the volume of people seeking even these.
One point to check out - I am unsure as to whether your visitor visa status impacts your ability to seek a green card/work actively so beware as US Immigration is extremely tough currently. It simply is not worth running foul of this and needs to be validated before you depart these shores.
No 1; Good on you for having the gumption to go over to the US and try your luck. Superb experience to work overseas and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
No 2: As you already know, you can carve our 1 week to 10 days from your month due to Christmas/New Year as there are a large number of companies in CA who do effectively close down over the Christmas period.
No 3; Being a realist, and having gone through the Green Card process myself whilst living in the US from 1999-2005, to manage your expectations, this could be a very tough experience with potentially minimal success. There are precious few firms aware of the detail/cost of the green card process in my experience, and those that do, generally have a lot of people already on various working visas who are in a line to get sponsored for the Green Card. Your business case in terms of sponsorship will need to be extremely strong given the number of people seeking green card status, and I am doubtful given currently H1 visa restrictions and the volume of people seeking even these.
One point to check out - I am unsure as to whether your visitor visa status impacts your ability to seek a green card/work actively so beware as US Immigration is extremely tough currently. It simply is not worth running foul of this and needs to be validated before you depart these shores.
Edited by Mustang Baz on Thursday 20th September 18:48
Likewise, not wishing to piss on your bonfire, Oliver, but sadly things tend not to be so simple in this country....
Firstly, it sounds like you are entering the US via visa waiver program, which allows you to stay in the country for up to 90 days. What it doesn't allow you to do is seek work. Who's going to know? Nobody - until (if) you secure a job offer - and then the questions start getting asked. If it is determined that you have violated VWP rules, you will not regain entry to US for ten years, so tread carefully.
With regard to employment sponsorship and green card, I'm afraid it ain't that easy either. H1B visa is the most commonly used in your circumstances. To qualify, your sponsoring employer (not you) must prove that the position they are seeking to fill requires specialist knowledge and skills that they cannot practically source in a local (American citizen) hire. You must be either degree educated or demonstrate a minimum 12 years of relevant expert experience in the field concerned. Don't forget, the applicant is your prospective employer - not you and as already stated, it is an expensive and paperwork laden process. Not wishing to TOTALLY kybosh the idea, but H1B visa's are also rationed and 2007 allocation was over-subscribed by more than 200%. As a result your prospective employer couldn't even apply for H1B until April 2008. If successful the visa would not become effective until October 2008.
Another route some use is L1 visa. In this case you must work for a company outside US (UK applies) in a senior managerial or specialist role for min 12 months. That company may then apply for L1 and transfer you to a US subsidiary if one exists - or create one, if it doesn't.
Finally, you could explore E1/2 investment type visas (business investments), but they require significant capital, which must be 'at risk' (i.e. you can't just park your $100k in a US bank a/c) and a very stout business plan.
Other than that, marriage to a USC, political persecution or illegal status are pretty much your only options.
It's true that some Europeans just 'chance it' by coming here on VWP and staying, but it must be a pretty miserable way to live (crappy, meaningless cash-in-hand work, no benefits, no healthcare, no drivers license, no credit and constant threat of imprisonment and deportation).
I'm certainly not going to tell you how to run your life, but personally I would be very, very careful about adhering to the rules of the visa waiver program. If you get busted - you are unceremoniously booted-out and it will then be almost impossible to return - and that 'black-mark' could haunt you in any future, ligitimate immigration application.
Good luck - but be careful - and realistic.
Matt
Firstly, it sounds like you are entering the US via visa waiver program, which allows you to stay in the country for up to 90 days. What it doesn't allow you to do is seek work. Who's going to know? Nobody - until (if) you secure a job offer - and then the questions start getting asked. If it is determined that you have violated VWP rules, you will not regain entry to US for ten years, so tread carefully.
With regard to employment sponsorship and green card, I'm afraid it ain't that easy either. H1B visa is the most commonly used in your circumstances. To qualify, your sponsoring employer (not you) must prove that the position they are seeking to fill requires specialist knowledge and skills that they cannot practically source in a local (American citizen) hire. You must be either degree educated or demonstrate a minimum 12 years of relevant expert experience in the field concerned. Don't forget, the applicant is your prospective employer - not you and as already stated, it is an expensive and paperwork laden process. Not wishing to TOTALLY kybosh the idea, but H1B visa's are also rationed and 2007 allocation was over-subscribed by more than 200%. As a result your prospective employer couldn't even apply for H1B until April 2008. If successful the visa would not become effective until October 2008.
Another route some use is L1 visa. In this case you must work for a company outside US (UK applies) in a senior managerial or specialist role for min 12 months. That company may then apply for L1 and transfer you to a US subsidiary if one exists - or create one, if it doesn't.
Finally, you could explore E1/2 investment type visas (business investments), but they require significant capital, which must be 'at risk' (i.e. you can't just park your $100k in a US bank a/c) and a very stout business plan.
Other than that, marriage to a USC, political persecution or illegal status are pretty much your only options.
It's true that some Europeans just 'chance it' by coming here on VWP and staying, but it must be a pretty miserable way to live (crappy, meaningless cash-in-hand work, no benefits, no healthcare, no drivers license, no credit and constant threat of imprisonment and deportation).
I'm certainly not going to tell you how to run your life, but personally I would be very, very careful about adhering to the rules of the visa waiver program. If you get busted - you are unceremoniously booted-out and it will then be almost impossible to return - and that 'black-mark' could haunt you in any future, ligitimate immigration application.
Good luck - but be careful - and realistic.
Matt
Mmm you haven't really said anything I didn't know, the trouble is I fit right in to the mid point of being non persecuted, hard working but not fabulously rich.
I don't really agree with the whole marrying a usc as I think it is pretty seedy, unless by a freak of luck you actually find someone you really like.
Not prepared to be an illegal immigrant, even though I understand once you have been there a certain amount of time you can stay, I just really wouldn't want to be always looking over my shoulder.
I know there are other ways around the problems but again not sure they are worth the risks.
There must be some way for an honest person to come to the us and work for a living?
I don't really agree with the whole marrying a usc as I think it is pretty seedy, unless by a freak of luck you actually find someone you really like.
Not prepared to be an illegal immigrant, even though I understand once you have been there a certain amount of time you can stay, I just really wouldn't want to be always looking over my shoulder.
I know there are other ways around the problems but again not sure they are worth the risks.
There must be some way for an honest person to come to the us and work for a living?
wildoliver said:
Mmm you haven't really said anything I didn't know, the trouble is I fit right in to the mid point of being non persecuted, hard working but not fabulously rich.
I don't really agree with the whole marrying a usc as I think it is pretty seedy, unless by a freak of luck you actually find someone you really like.
Not prepared to be an illegal immigrant, even though I understand once you have been there a certain amount of time you can stay, I just really wouldn't want to be always looking over my shoulder.
I know there are other ways around the problems but again not sure they are worth the risks.
There must be some way for an honest person to come to the us and work for a living?
Yeh, sorry that there isn't a piss-easy way to do this - and here's me, wearing out my fingerprints, trying to be helpful!I don't really agree with the whole marrying a usc as I think it is pretty seedy, unless by a freak of luck you actually find someone you really like.
Not prepared to be an illegal immigrant, even though I understand once you have been there a certain amount of time you can stay, I just really wouldn't want to be always looking over my shoulder.
I know there are other ways around the problems but again not sure they are worth the risks.
There must be some way for an honest person to come to the us and work for a living?
Marrying your way in is utter desparation - though a surprising number of people do it. Going under the fence is even worse.
Re-reading your original post, L1A is likely to be your most promising option - is it your business? Trouble is, restoring classic cars is probably not considered 'substantial trade' by the USCIS in the framework of the L1 type visa.
The reality of this is that without a well resourced, legitimate sponsor, who's offering a real job, it's a non-starter. If you can find one, then great - but that employer has to jump through hoops to justify 'importing' you in favour of a USC.
Now, if you were a Mexican, wading across the Rio Grande, that puts a whole different coat of paint on it......
Marriage option is mentioned a few times, its my understanding you still need a sponser even if your married to a USC. They must have around, last time I looked, $130k in liquid assests just incase you start claiming for food stamps, or some crap like that. At least two years a go that was the situation with me.
Ok, burn this when you've read it.
Fancy doing a college course here. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. Welding !
The county colleges are cheapest and you can work while you study.
It will buy you time, time to look around, time to find the right lawyer who will help you.
You aren't going to get this info from an American, try Philippino, Mexican (not a landscaper) Korean etc, they know all the rules.
I don't, but I do know what you earn part time will not cover all your college costs and living expenses.
Student visa could be your only route.
Fancy doing a college course here. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. Welding !
The county colleges are cheapest and you can work while you study.
It will buy you time, time to look around, time to find the right lawyer who will help you.
You aren't going to get this info from an American, try Philippino, Mexican (not a landscaper) Korean etc, they know all the rules.
I don't, but I do know what you earn part time will not cover all your college costs and living expenses.
Student visa could be your only route.
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