Booglehoop

Hi,

I am a freelance software engineer based in the UK and am exploring visa options of relocating to the USA. Ideally I would like to work in the same consulting capacity in the USA, and have heard of “consulting companies” which will sponsor your H1B and leave you free to work on multiple projects without having to transfer your H1B each time.

However, I have also read some contradictory information concerning efforts by the US govt. to restrict this kind of arrangement.

Can anyone shed any light on the current situation?

ian-mstm

Many consulting companies will certainly take your money and promise you an H-1B visa. Almost none of them can deliver the goods! Generally speaking, I'd avoid them like the plague!

Ian

Booglehoop

Thanks for the response, but I'm interested in whether or not such an arrangement is allowable under US law, or even commonplace.

I would in fact be securing my own H1B visa initially, but would then look to transfer it to a "Consulting Company" which would then hopefully enable me to work as a consultant/freelance engineer without having to continually transfer my H1B each time I changed client.

Thanks

ian-mstm

Umm... no, you wouldn't.

Ian

GeoffM

You cannot secure an H1B yourself - you need a sponsor, and that sponsor has to pay for it. That sponsor is therefore going to want to keep you for some time to recover the costs to them of getting a visa for you. I don't know how they can legally tie you to the job but I'm sure they will try. Given the job market, finding an employer when you have a visa is hard enough, let along convincing them to pay to take you on.

I see your idea with the consulting company - just an umbrella leach company that takes a cut of your wages. But a quick Google search suggests it's not a good idea. If you have money you might want to consider an investment visa and starting your own consulting business.

Octang Frye

You can't "secure your own H1b". It doesn't work that way.
There are no H1b consulting companies, as you speak of them, which let you freelance.

Here's how it works: a company has a job and wants to fill it with an H1b candidate. First they have to advertise the job for x period of time, and show proof that they're advertising (evidence from trade journals etc). This is so that an American is given first crack at filling the position.
Next, they have to show they're paying the market rate. Then, when the visa is issued, it's issued for a very specific job title within the given company, and with very specific job responsibilities/duties.

You used to be able to use AC21 to change employers during the I485 adjustment of status process, but that required your application to have been pending for more than six months.

An H1b is indentured servitude. You have to take the good with the bad. I've done it and got my greencard through it, before becoming a Yanqee.

Booglehoop

Thanks for the responses.

I have explored all the visa options and taken legal advice and the best fit for my current circumstances/needs is the H1B.

I was just trying to get information on the specific point of operating through a consultancy and am interested in whether anyone in the expat community has any experience of working in that manner.

With regard to the H1B itself I have a contact who owns and operates a company in the US. My contact is ready willing and able to sponsor my H1B visa. I will enter the US with a valid H1B visa, not try to seek one through a consultancy. The initial H1B is not a problem, this question is more about avoiding the ongoing transfer costs as I move from client to client.

Booglehoop

Thank you very much - that is eactly what I was looking for!

Duncan Roberts

Doesn't sound like you really have researched it very well because the initial H1B is very much a problem, transferring it from company to company certainly is and the H1B is not a good fit for your current circumstances at all. Your plan sounds great on paper but you are making it massively more simple than it really is and are trying to use a visa for something it isn't used for. If you are set on being a contractor, see if you can get sponsorship from any company and a guarantee of greencard sponsorship when you are eligible. With a greencard you can work as a freelance contractor as much as your heart desires.

ian-mstm

Is it really exactly what you're looking for? With an H-1B, you are tied to that company as an employee - not as a contractor. You can look for work elsewhere if you want, but you can't actually accept any work. You can't freelance, because the sponsoring company can't give you permission to freelance!

For all the "legal advice" you received, you really don't quite "get it" yet. If you spoke to an actual immigration attorney, I suggest you find someone else! If you spoke to anyone other than an actual immigration attorney, his advice wasn't worth the fee you paid. BTW, I'm not trying to be mean, just honest.

Oh... and any "ongoing transfer costs" must be paid by that employer... not you - and they're certainly going to want to know that ahead of time. For the money this is going to cost, you'd better be one helluva damn good software engineer.

Ian

Booglehoop

I appreciate the input - I really do... but with all possible due respect you can't possibly know my wider circumstances.

Also, I think you are missing the point. This is not a "plan", on paper or otherwise. I am trying to formulate a plan based on the experiences of you good people, having exhausted all other avenues. I was simply trying to find out if what I suggested was feasible. Octang Frye answered my question - it isn't.

I agree, transferring H1B between employers is a big deal - hence my question to try and mitigate this.

My research is based on the advice of well respected US attorneys in so far as obtaining H1B to work at the contact company I mentioned. I've been through it all EB1, EB2 NIW, EB2 PERM, L1, E1 blah blah blah.

Duncan Roberts

Booglehoop

My intial question was:

"I am a freelance software engineer based in the UK and am exploring visa options of relocating to the USA. Ideally I would like to work in the same consulting capacity in the USA, and have heard of “consulting companies” which will sponsor your H1B and leave you free to work on multiple projects without having to transfer your H1B each time. "

The thing I was looking for which Octang Frye provided exactly was an answer to this question. The answer was “no”.

I was looking for an answer.

Booglehoop

I’m obviously treading on a few toes here and annoying people, so just want to clear the air…

I just wanted to know if it was possible to freelance under an H1B from a “Consulting Company” (a thing I had heard existed). I didn’t get this piece of information from an attorney, just picked it up on the Internet. You guys answered that question – the answer is “no”. Thank you.

The advice I have received from a US immigration attorney concerns my options (EB1, EB2 NIW, EB2 PERM, H1B etc). On the basis of that advice, my only realistic avenue at this present time is to obtain an H1B - I have a sponsor, but this really would be temporary. I would have to find alternative employment, transfer the H1B and hopefully from there get sponsorship to EB2 PERM or something. I am aware of the costs of transferring H1B between employers and the obvious consequences – hence my initial question.

I tried to get away with a quick question without the full back-story. It didn’t work, I apologise.

celticgrid

Having someone willing to sponsor you for an H1B is not the same as having an H1B.