shabangle

Good evening everybody. I am new to the forum and am considering the J1 training visa. I'm 24 and have a business & maths degree, plus 1 years experience in a bank and futher experience in teaching business and also doing a little marketing.

I have researched the area but am still having a few questions. I have found that much of the information on this topic is vague at best so any concise answers would be greatly apreciated!! OK here goes...

1) Most companies will offer to sponsor the visa. Some would be charging around £4000 to place me in a host company. ALL say, very casually, that they can simply sponsor me "once I've found a job" for a much lower fee, usually around £1000. However NONE of these sites provide information or links to how to actually go about doing this. Does anyone here have any? Or is it simply a case of emailing companies? I read only certain companies have the right to hire staff. Where do I find a list of such companies?

2) I want to work in the finance/business sector. I have read on forums that J-1 visas, because not "proper jobs", can pay very lowly, in some cases near-minimum wage. Yet I found this on http://www.jobsamerica.co.uk/faqs.htm:

Q How much will I be paid?
A You will earn the same as an equally qualified American citizen doing the same job. Salaries vary tremendously according to what you do. As a general (and we stress this is only a general) guideline you can expect to earn more then you would doing the same job in the UK.

So what is the pay like? Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not someone who craves money, but there is a gulf between USA minimum wage and what is stated above, so what should I believe?

3) Can anyone tell me is the following statement true or false?

"You can do the J-1 visa for a year, and then transfer onto the H1b with no problems. All you need is a waiver from your embassy that negates the 2 year return home element. This is fine as long as you are not in the medical profession or are doing the programme with the UK government paying."

4) Should I be afraid of the current economic problems in America if wanting to apply in the next year?

Thank you so much for any help with any of these points

Kind Regards,

Andy

scrubbedexpat099

2) How many Americans would be doing that job? All the ones I have personally come across may not be minimum, but in the region.

3) That's easy, false.

4) Always a shortage for cheap labour, whatever the conditions.

Not my area but you could try searching under BUNAC.

Ray

3. not only false ..an outrageous claim

shabangle

Hi, thanks for the help already.

So how is 3) an outrageous claim? Where does the outrage lie? Is it with the waiver, or is it that H1bs are not exactly easy to come by? And do you have any links to information that confirms and gives further information on this point? (My tone here is curiosity- I'm not questioning what you say!!!)

I tried BUNAC, and they only do the Work America programme for those who are currently students. It's a technical point, it means I'm doing a "Career-Training" J-1 Visa rather than an "Internship" and so am ineligible for a programme with BUNAC.

Thanks for the info on point 4, it was just a quick thought.

And any more info on the pay I should expect and also point 1) is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for any help you can provide!!

Andy

Ray

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1b_crisis


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1B_visa

shabangle

So what you're saying is point 3 could be re-written as: "If you have worked on the J-1 for 1 year, then you can enter the H1b visa lottery providing your company will sponsor the visa." And what was said aout the waiver is still true?

Ray

depends on the J-1.. not all have a home reqiurement

The main problem would be finding a company wiiling to sponsor
you for a job they have to apply for on april 1st for a
oct 1st start... unless you are top of your tree its too expensive
for one thing and its uncertain you will even get it ..

scrubbedexpat099

You do not need to work on a J1 to qualify for a H1

You do not apply for a H1, your Employer does.

J1 may be a disadvantage if you have the home residency requirement.

But ask yourself if you should deal with somebody who does not know the very basics?

shabangle

Good afternoon guys,

once again thanks for all the answers already given.

However this afternoon I stumbled across the following, from http://www.immihelp.com/visas/h1b/h1b-cap-petition.html

(note, I cut and pasted things for clarity)

The following beneficiaries of approved H1b petitions are exempt from the H1b cap:

3. A non-profit research organisation or government research organiszation...

4. Beneficiary of this petition is a J-1 nonimmigrant alien who received a waiver of the two year foreign residency requirement...

So assuming the above is correct (and please say if you think it is in anyway wrong):

point 3) Is it easy to obtain jobs in non-profit organizations? This is something I would have wanted to do irrespective of any visa caps.

point 4) I'm sorry guys but this somewhat contradicts a lot of the previous threads, suggesting it is very possible to switch from a J-1 to H1b, and also that doing the J-1 visa would be extremeley beneficial.

Ray

Yes ..of course..If you are the top of the tree in your chosen career
remember people from the rest of the world also apply for these prime jobs ...