TinyBecs

Hi,
My apologies if this seems very basic, I have been reading up online for so many months now and it's all boggled my head a bit!
I'm looking into moving over to the states to live & work, and I have no idea if i have any form of chance where I am in my life now, or where to start.
I'm 23, and work as an IT engineer for a global company with head offices in Boston. I don't have any education under my belt further from college, but do however have many specific IT qualifications.
I am looking into an employment based visa, however I'm not sure I stand a chance without a degree, or only 3 years experience in IT, not to mention if there is a market for that area in immigrating for work purposes.
My boyfriend is a New York resident, however I would like to get into the US preferably off my own back, as opposed to seeing where things lead in the relationship.
Where's good to start with regards to this? I have been applying for jobs in the US for the past year, however to no success, and I have been advised by an IT recruitment consultant friend of my boyfriend's it's probably best I get a lawyer involved, which I simply cannot afford yet.
I appreciate the best way to go about this would be an internal transfer at my current job, however I'm not sure how feasable this is.
Please, any advice is really appreciated, my head's a bit boggled!
Thanks!
Becky

tonrob

From reading between the lines of your post I think you already know the answer!

1) Internal transfer, or
2) Marriage, or
3) Forget it

ian-mstm

You're wise for your age!


Many people feel the same way as you... they want to make a go of it on their own. Most of them end up marrying their USC partners when they realize how difficult it is to get to the US.


A lawyer won't be able to help you, so feel free to ignore the friend's suggestion.


Since you ask, I suggest you go back to school and get a degree. Let moving to the US become a long-term goal rather than something more immediate.

Ian

TinyBecs

Thanks for the advice. Obviously if I am still in the same situation as I am currently in a year or so down the road, it looks like marriage may be on the cards anyway, however I'd really rather use that as a last resort with regards to obtaining a visa is concerned. I'd rather pride myself on getting there myself to start, I have a few friends who have been and gone through marriage at a very young age just for the visa, which i don't nessesarily agree with.
I appreciate that a degree would make it easier for me in the long run, however education really isn't right for me, I think i've now passed the stage in my life after being in full time employment for 7 years where sitting in a class room doesn't appeal!
I have been with my current job for 5 months now, working on desktop support, however the multiple qualifications I hold are for network engineering, I think my best bet for action would be to enquire about an internal transfer, however I don't quite know when would be a good timeframe to ask without dropping my foot in it!

Noorah101

You need to have at least 1 year with your current company in order to qualify for a transfer. So perhaps bring the topic up with your employer in another 7 + months or so.

Rene

tht

You also need to fall in to 1 of 2 categories (assuming you are talking L1a/b) for a transfer:

Manager/Executive or specialized knowledge

.... both of these are very specific and nothing you have written so far indicates that you fall in to either of these (I have been with my current job for 5 months now, working on desktop support).

I had similar aspirations to you aged 21 (and had a USC girl friend in Boston at the time). I was about 6 months in to my first job after university. I did the research an my conclusion at the time was to focus on getting experience, which I did. In the 10 years between then and getting to NYC (as an L1a) I gained further work experience and a master's level degree, finally in 2008 I took a senior level Job (Director) for a US based firm setting up their new European office, and after 2 years they told me they wanted to move me to NYC.

While I could likely have achieved the above in a shorter time frame, I did not let it dominate my life, in that time I also moved to New Zealand for just over 3 years , and gained some valuable experience and a taste for what it is like to live and work in a new country.

My advise, you can get there, but it will likely take many years from your position if you want to do it "off my own back".

Good Luck!

tht

TinyBecs

Thanks for the advice. I have a lot of specialised network engineering knowledge and certifications (my current desktop support role is a step down from my experience) so I do feel that I fit into the 'specialised knowledge' catagory. I just understand that I most likely do not have the amount of experience required to pick up a job in the US for sponsorship or an internal transfer just yet, which is a pain as the networking side of my company is based in Boston so I don't get a look in currently!
I'm visiting NY every 2-3 months at the moment and do enjoy having 2 sides to my life, with work at home and kept at home, and the majority of my personal life there. I would just love to be able to merge the 2, I have always appreciated that it is much easier said than done however!
I just wanted to gain a little insight into other opinions on my situation as opposed to reading all the black and white print on websites which just state the how-to's!
Thankyou very much

scrubbedexpat099

Marriage, we will go around in circles for a while but that is the best bet.

Noorah101

How many times have you visited so far? How long do you stay each time? At some point, you can expect to be turned away at the POE for visiting TOO often.

Rene

TinyBecs

Really?
I have visited 4 times this year so far, each trip a maximum of 2 weeks long, with 3 months between each trip. My next is planned for Christmas for another 2 weeks.
I wasn't aware they can turn you down for visiting too often. I'm always straight with the immigration officers and tell them I am visiting my boyfriend.

Noorah101

Your pattern isn't too bad. A 2-week visit every 3 months sounds reasonable. But just letting you know they CAN turn you away at the POE, if you continue the pattern TOO long...especially since they know you have a USC boyfriend. They might get an idea that you're thinking of staying in the USA one day on one of these visits.

Rene

TinyBecs

My trips should halve next year as he will be visiting the UK every other trip to even it out. Thankyou for the advice though, I'm used to the grilling of questions at the border, but wasn't aware that they could infact turn you away for visiting too frequently. Thankyou!

ian-mstm

I fully understand! I went to work right after high school... and it wasn't until I was in my mid-20s that I realized that if I was going to get anywhere, I'd need an education. I got my Bachelor's degree when I was 29; completed a Master's degree when I was 47... and when I was 56, I started a PhD.

As an aside, I've spent almost my entire adult life in IT. You'll quickly find out that when it comes to moving forward in your company and HR is choosing from two candidates with equal experience... the one with the degree will most likely get the position.

Ian

Gingerert

Are those qualifications Microsoft certifications you're talking about? MCP, MCSA, MCSE, etc? Desktop support engineers, network engineers, etc?

I only ask because I used to work for an adult technical college over here which trained students in those fields. There are A LOT of Americans with those certificates who cannot currently get work.

Maybe it's different in New York...

TinyBecs

I do not have any Microsoft certifications, but I have a lot of vendor specific certifications to the highest level for a lot of the vendors. I.E Infoblox, Fortinet, Palo Alto, Aerohive, Q1 Labs, Airtight Networks. & these certifications certainly do not come cheaply! I've always found with finding jobs in this field that the vendor qualifications outshine those of Microsoft... but not quite Cisco!