bianalyst

Hi all,

I've read in some parts of this forum that when doing an intra-company transfer, HR should "double Sterling and add a $ sign". How does this hold up post-Brexit when the GPBUSD rate is reaching 1.20 at times? I will be going on an L-1B, so I'm wondering how pay equivalency is established. Does the immigration firm (Fragomen in my case) suggest a pay range or warn if the suggested pay is too low?

lansbury

As a guide $1.60 in the US buys what a £1 buys in the UK. It's a guide as the US is so big you have to allow for regional variations for sales tax, property prices etc.

petitefrancaise

Brexit has nothing to do with it.

Most international companies will have you on a paygrade scale based on the job that you actually do. The amount the position is paid is different in different markets (geographical areas) determined by local situations.

Fragomen will be told by your company what your job is paid in the city in which you will be working in the USA. The USCIS also have a database which they will check to ensure that you are not being brought in as cheap foreign labour. You can look on glassdoor or indeed.com for an idea of what your salary might be in the USA.

durham_lad

+1

The exchange rate has little or nothing to do with the pay scales in US companies or the cost of living where those companies employ their workers.

bianalyst

Thanks, this is helpful. Is the database USCIS look at the same as the one found on FLC Data Center? (FLCDataCenter.com)

petitefrancaise

yes.

although you might be better off looking on glassdoor....

mrken30

A simlar thing could be said for working in London, pay is determined by the local market. From what I have seen DC, NYC and the Bay area tend to have the highest salaries in the US, along with high cost of living.

LouisB

I just switched from London to NYC and brexit was not a factor, I got a good US rate and conversion back to UK in light of brexit FX rates lately made it even more attractive, about 20% more so due to falling £. Even considering London salary rates were good anyway.

However what really matters is income vs. cost of living, so the fact I can get more £ from my salary than in London is sort of a moot point.

Always key to get a salary inline with cost of living in that location, or better than that if you can tolerate longer commutes. Housing costs nearly alway the biggest factor in outgoing expenses. Like an optimisation problem, find a sweet spot between all those factors and you'll be doing OK 😌

GeneralPowerpoint

If it helps my company are transferring me from London to NYC as of thursday and "converted" my current salary by a factor of 1.6 when translating it from £ to $. Which I was satisfied with and put me on the going rate for my job title over there.

mrken30

When I negotiated the salary for my first US job, I used the exchange rate or 2 USD to 1 GBP. So basically double my UK salary. At the time the exchange rate had just fallen from 2 down to about 1.6 , maybe lower. Wages for my job have not changed much both in the US or the UK.

bianalyst

Thanks all - I'll know what to expect going into negotiations now.

tom169

Definitely check glass door. Some professions, like software engineering, are paid much more here on average.

When I moved over and took this job I'm paid more than 2x the amount for a similar level position.

I just don't want you short changed.

MidAtlantic

Taking the UK salary and multiplying it, whether by 1.6 or 2 or anything else, is irrelevant. What matters is the appropriate salary for that job in that location in the USA.

GeneralPowerpoint

It's not irrelevant. It's a good frame of reference. I would regard it as the minimum salary you should be prepared to accept.

If the going rate is below that - consider not going.
If the going rate is above that - consider negotiating on that basis.
If the going rate is roughly that - consider accepting.

mrken30

Something else I have noticed, is that salaries on the whole don't vary that much across the US. I think in the UK there was much more of a North/South divide on salaries.
I could earn maybe 10% to 20% more in the Bay area, but my extra expenses would probably come to more than that 20%. Conversely I could also live in Hicksville and earn similar money with much lower expenses, but I'm not sure I would fit in.