lonestarbrah

Hi all

I posted some (slightly desperate) threads in 2013 and 2014 where I posted about planning to make a move to the USA: a few questions . At that time, I had no work experience and just a BA.

I'm back again, wondering if I can get any more advice. Someone in that thread said to me "don't let it take over your life", and for the most part, I unfortunately have.

I finished a Masters, started my career, and now (after having purposely sought it out) work in an extremely in-demand field of IT, for one of the most well recognised and competitive Fintech companies in the world (an American company). I have a number of valuable certifications in this field. All of this, has been done in order to move to Texas, as originally planned.

In 2019 I applied to one internal position in the US within my company which, after some interviews (I was confident that I'd done well), was given to someone with much more experience than myself. I suppose I'm posting this because I feel time passing by, and need to consider my options.

I wonder if people who have been successful at applying for jobs in the US that require a H1-b, could give me any advice.
-What's the best way of approaching this?
-Recruiters, or direct applications?
-90% of the job adverts I look at say "We will not sponsor H1bs for this position" - has anyone found an effective way of filtering on job/recruitment sites for "yes we will sponsor"?
-Should i be focussing on large multinationals?
-Looking on h1b statistics websites, a very small number of British nationals are successful in obtaining H1bs compared to some other countries - Is there a particular reason for this (something I could leverage for myself)?

My plan is to apply for H1b roles, all the while checking the internal job boards at my company for another L1b opportunity (who knows when this will come along again though).

Any other advice at all?

Thanks for reading.

tht

Right now moving people is probably the last thing firms are thinking of, what’s the difference if people are working remote.

The H1b stats are probably just a function of numbers. A large number of applications from India.

It sounds like you are already in the best spot you can be, working for an employer who could transfer you. How many years work experience do you have now?

The other option you could look at is a masters or PhD at a US school that will allow you to be in the US, network and if you pick the right subject you will get OPT/EAD extension for longer which will allow you to work for a US employer and go for the H1b lottery multiple times (I think you can get up to 3 years) the last OPT I employed got picked for an H1b the second time we put in for him. But that still leaves you as an employee at Will in most states, so even getting over here does not mean you can stay.

https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the...r-f-1-students

kateinbrooklyn

An L1 is a far better way in to the USA and a far better way to stay since it's quicker to move from an L1 to a green card than it is from an H1-B. Have you told your boss, your boss's boss, HR and any decision-makers at your company how much you want to be transfered? Make sure you put it into writing at every annual review (if you have one). H1-Bs are very competitive at the moment and the job market is not great. Keep on at your company.

lonestarbrah

Have I told my boss, boss's boss, etc, YES! I think everyone is bored of hearing about it by now actually lol.

The job market for my sector seems ok, but obviously less than it was 6 months ago. The reason I'm looking at possible H1b applications is because time is ticking on and I feel like I could be waiting 5 days or 5 years for another L1 opportunity. I really would just like to move and 'start my new life' in the place I actually want to be. I know I have no control over this, but that's how I feel.




Thanks for this.

I now have 5 years of work experience now in this field. I had thought that my very last backup plan in my 40s could be the 'invest/pay' for the green card route, however I recently found out that had been increased to around $900,000.

PHD/another Masters is really not something I want to do but probably something I'll eventually have to consider.

neill

Apologies if you've already heard this, but have you considered a move to Canada? I *think* with your level of education it should be relatively easy to do (been a long time since I did it, and I went the Quebec route), but within 5ish years of being there, you could potentially be a Canadian citizen that qualifies for TN status, which allows you to say on any U.S. job application "I do not require Visa sponsorship", as this is a major issue for a lot of companies in the U.S. that have zero appetite for getting involved with H-1Bs.

Also there are a lot of tax/social security arrangements (Totality agreement) between the U.S. and Canada meaning any moneys you put into either system can be 'totalized', so "investing" in Canada for a while is not a waste of time if you do eventually end up in the U.S.

tom169

Vacation, strike up a conversation with a local?

christmasoompa

I agree with the Canada idea in principle, if the OP likes the North American way of life and can't get to the US, Canada may well be easier as a Plan B. Particularly as if s/he is aged 30 or under they'd have the IEC visa open to them, which would give them a 2 year open work permit to get over there and apply for PR. But TN visas still require a job offer, and there is only one IT occupation on the current list of eligible occupations (Computer Systems Analyst) so Canadian citizenship may not necessarily mean an easy route to the US - although definitely easier than the H1-B lottery etc.

Rose tea

Sorry, it seems like you're in a very frustrating situation. Unfortunately, this is the experience many wannabe US immigrants have: you can do everything right, and still not be able to get over here. There's also very little interest in legal immigration reform - hence why Trump was able to suspend the H-1B visa programme earlier this year and have it barely register for the average American. I'm always surprised when I meet someone who managed to do the L-1 route, honestly. It seems increasingly rare.

I echo other comments to look into a postgraduate degree here. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the process, but it's much more hands-on and training-based than UK postgrad degrees, which is partly why US degrees take longer, and also why they can be very affordable. In exchange for teaching and research duties, my US postgrad degree didn't cost me anything. Studying in the US can also function as an H-1B pathway, as you are given (under current immigration rules) 12 - 18 months after graduation to look for a job in the US tied to your degree on something called Optional Practical Training.

Postgrad is the route I took to get here after I just couldn't figure out any other way to do it.