Relocating to U.S.

[schueymcfee]

Hi,

I finished an internship in the States earlier this year. When I finish my degree in the summer I want to relocate and start my career there.

Has anybody any tips on persuading employers its worth the time and effort of getting a work permit or can anyone guide me from experience?

Thanks in advance.

>>> Edited by schueymcfee on Tuesday 23 December 20:59

[tuffer]

From bitter dissapointment I can tell you it's a lot of hassle!!

Easiest way is to get a job with a US company in the UK and then transfer after 1 year, that's what I was doing and it would have all been straightforward.....until they decided that $5k was a reasonable sum for relocation, error!

[GavinPearson]

schueymcfee said:

Hi, I finished an internship in the States earlier this year. When I finish my degree in the summer I want to relocate and start my career there. Has anybody any tips on persuading employers its worth the time and effort of getting a work permit or can anyone guide me from experience? Thanks in advance. >>> Edited by schueymcfee on Tuesday 23 December 20:59

It really depends on what your particular specialisation is and whether there is strong demand for your skills.

As an example - I work in Detroit. A large number of experienced Engineers and IT staff have been told via their contract houses that their services are not longer required. Any job that does get posted has numerous applicants and employers can choose from the best of the best, let's say a Masters Degree and 10 years or more experience.

That is what you are competing with.

To increase your odds of getting a job you need to be exceptional at whatever you specialise in to make it to the stage where you are interviewed. You might want to consider working in a less than glamouous area. Assuming the employer wants you they will offer you a job pending successful Visa application. They will apply to the INS for an H1-B which will cost $1000 plus lawyer's fees. To be granted this Visa will take around 4 months from offer - lawyers take time, INS have a lot of work, etc etc.

If you wish to stay in the USA you need to have the H1-B converted to a Green Card. This requires Labor Certification - i.e. you have the specialist skills and are not doing an American out of a job. This takes about 3 to 4 years. After this comes Adjustment - about another year. You now have a Green card.

It is not an easy process by any means because it is designed to limit immigration to those who will contribute most to the economy, and to the spouses / parents / children of US citizens and for some Permanent Residents.

A lot of people come over to the US to study and then obtain work (via a different visa) as wok experience. This often leads to an offer at which point the H1-B is applied for.

Another alternative is to work in Canada, gain Citizenship and then you can work in the US under a TN visa. I would certainly recommend further investigation.

[schueymcfee]

O.K. thanks for the info - at least I now know what I'm up against!

[simpo two]

GavinPearson said:

It is not an easy process by any means because it is designed to limit immigration to those who will contribute most to the economy

If only we were so smart in the UK, we might be getting richer instead of poorer.

[jeff m]

Stuart,
I came to the states, my experiences seem to differ from the other posts.
My wife arrived before me as I had to sell some stuff and tidy up some loose ends. I arrived with six days left on my one year entry visa which caused a problem in San Francisco airport, I told them I had an interview at Newark on the Tuesday, they said they didn't beleive me, I said ok show me to the British Airways desk I'll buy a ticket out. They said ok you can stay. On the Tuesday I was approved for a green card, it took a month to arrive in the mail. During that month I was unable to travel (out of the US)

We had a very good lawyer, her charge for that day was $1,000, there were probably some other charges, preparation and filing etc. but someone took care of it for us, so I'm not sure if she actually got paid or did it as a favour.

But if the company wants you they will take care of all that. If the company you did your internship with had other foreign nationals working there then they have the ability to get you.

The American immig system works on a quota system, so say you were Mexican or Philipino you would find yourself at the end of a very long line! We'll call you for an interveiw in five years" Their quotas are always full. As a Brit you have an advantage on the quota side of the equasion but a question mark re the "taking job from an American" but if the company already has other foreign nationals then they have already jumped that hurdle and it is my understanding they only have to jump that hurdle once, not for every new employee.

So if you still fancy it, why not test out the company you were with. Something like "I'm thinking of moving to the States, thought I'd give you first crack at me as you were so nice to me while I was there"
Jeff

[schueymcfee]

Thanks for that Jeff, that gives me some hope

I am working on the company that I did my internship with but they just don't have the budget yet.

But I'm going to pass on the information about getting a firm job offer 4 months before my visa starts. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks.