Bob83

Hi, looking for some advice. I’ve had a good read through threads and probably have some of the answers I need but here’s my situation.



I have been offered a job in the US and the prospective employer is willing to sponsor me for a visa, they are aware there will be costs and a process involved but it’s not something they have done before or have any knowledge on. They are willing to speak to an immigration lawyer so I’m just trying to gauge if it’s worth them doing that or if it’s a complete non starter.



Quick background for context



I’m a sales manager/product specialist for a UK manufacturer. Travelled extensively in the US in this role and grown our US market to be a significant part of our business. Unfortunately my current company is unwilling to set up a US operation which would have been potentially an easier route to being US based.



My US based importer has now offered me a similar role managing their product line which is all imported from European and UK manufacturers.



I do not have any formal qualifications but I do have 15 years experience in a sales role the majority of which in export with the US market being a significant part of that experience.



So.. the question is what are my chances of making this happen?! Lack of formal qualifications and not being considered a specialist occupation would seem to be the main and potentially insurmountable hurdles?



I’m a realist so all advice welcome, thanks in advance!



Bob

Noorah101

I personally would let them speak to an immigration lawyer who can determine which visa route(s) would be doable.

Then you will have a clear and professional answer.

Rene

Bob83

Thanks Rene, sounds like the place to start.

Bob

Dotty70

Hi there,

Having gone through the employment based visa process myself, there are different categories for employment based immigrant visas -

E1

Employment First Preference (E1): Priority Worker and Persons of Extraordinary Ability

E2

Employment Second Preference (E2): Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability

E3 -

Employment Third Preference (E3): Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers)

The company that I am going to work for in the USA have sponsored me on a EB3 unskilled visa . Check out which category suits you best

if you go onto the link below (I can't post the link exactly)

travel state . gov / content / travel / en / us - visas / immigrate / employment - based - immigrant - visas . h t m l

It has taken 2 and half years to complete the process for me and my family! We move over the USA in 39 days! But, I know Covid made the process longer than normal with huge delays!

Find an immigration lawyer and present the facts above and they will hopefully be able to help you get the visa you need. This is an immigrant visa - green card.

Hope this helps and good luck with your journey

SanDiegogirl

Thought the E visas were NOT those that gave permanent residency and a green card immediately - indeed thought the E2 was called the visa from hell

Isn't it EB visas which are 'green card' employment visas.

Dotty70

Hey SanDiegogirl

Yeah the EB visas are the green card immigrant visas - I started typing EB visas on my post and checked on the travel state website and they class them as E visas. But they are actually EB!

Anyway - hopefully I haven't confused the poster with saying E visas - hope they can follow the link to the travel state link and find the EB categories!

The E visas are the investor visas - and the visa from hell.

The visa I have is EB3 unskilled!

Thanks for pointing out my mistake

:-)

postbox134

Who would sponsor you for EB-3 when you can immidiately leave them as soon as you arrive in the USA? Seems like two years of wasted efforts for them and very unusual.

No idea why, but someone they refer to EB as E1,E2,E3 on some of the statistics pages etc. I think it's very confusing when E-2 is a non immigrant visa that is completely different (and often hellish in nature).

S Folinsky

Do consult with an immigration attorney experienced in the business visa end of the shop. In your consultation it is a good idea to be goal oriented in a general sense.

This retired immigration attorney would note that this thread has some pretty bad misinformation in it.