Revel78

Hi,

I appreciate that there maybe some similar threads, but perhaps not in the specific job catagory.

I am an oil geologist with 10 years experience. I have a Bachelors and Masters degree. I have lived in UK all my life. I wish to move to the states. The reason I do, is to be with my girlfriend. She has residency in the US through a previous marriage (she is Colombian). Of course, we could marry, but it may cause alot of suspision and questioning by the authorities (I assure you our relationship is genuine, but I appreciate how it could be viewed otherwise!). Neither of us have any children

Anyway, can anyone give advice on getting work in the oil industry in the USA for people wishing to immigrate?

I am considering quitting my job in the uk and spending 3 months in Texas / California looking for work, can anyone point me in the right direction? Would I be wasting my time coming over to look?

Any advise / personal experiences are appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul

Marocco

Hi and welcome. We cannot advise you on finding a job in the US oil industry. The obvious thing would be for you to work with a multinational and apply for a transfer to the US.

Why don't you marry your girlfriend? That would seem to be the easiest option.

Duncan Roberts

Why would it cause suspicion? Lots of people do the same and it would be far easier to do that and have unrestricted work authorization than try to get work sponsorship. That being said, "residency" could mean different things and a major difference in the time it would take to do. Is she a US citizen or does she hold a greencard? Something else? I have no idea if being an oil geoscientist would be something that could get you visa sponsorship though.

meauxna

You're certainly welcome to pursue an employment track for moving to the US, but you only need to stop by the marriage based forum to see that there are lots of cross continent marriages here at BE and many people met online or were BF/GF long distance.
I'm not sure why you think it would cause suspicion, unless she is married to someone else or there's something else you didn't say.

As Duncan points out, the options are different depending on if she is a citizen or Permanent Resident (and if so, how long has she been a resident. Bonus questions include 'How did she get her residence' etc).

Weeze

OH worked for a US oil company in the UK and they offered him a move to Houston. All of the oil expats we have met so far have done the same thing. Then the visa all gets sorted for you.
I haven't met anyone who just came out here to look for a job but then I've only been here just over a month!
i don't know enough about visas to be able to help with the whole job hunting in the US thing, but there is loads of information in the Wiki section. Does your exisiting company not have ties in the US?

John Manley

Hello,

If your girlfriend is an LPR, you have no immediate right to immigrate through her, even if you were married.

It looks like you should explore business visa options, either as an intercompany transferee or as a new hire. A number of websites cater to the oil and gas industry for advertising employment positions.

You might want to look for a position before coming to the U.S. Good luck with this.

Marocco

According to the latest visa bulletin, the wait for spouses of LPRs is only a few months. Currently, visas are being issued for applications filed in April 2010 for all chargeability areas except Mexico.

Probably quicker than looking for a job and filing for H1B...

John Manley

I agree that the processing times for that category are very good now. However, that is still not an immediate right to immigrate. Those visa numbers could change for the better for more likely for the worse next month as well.

If the OP finds a job in the U.S. quickly he could be here in less than 6 months. The H-1B cap has still not been reached. He should look into all of his options.

E3only

Marriage and Company transfer definitely options. Both will take time to make it happen (visa process / 1 year work outside US).

However, it’s not really impossible to find work. I am not from Oil and Gas but I did find work on my own. Yes, relatively it’s perhaps easier just to get married but that does not mean OP can not find work. May be its different in the Oil and Gas industry which I have no knowledge about.

10 years experience with degrees goes a long way. I have not work in Oil and Gas but being in banking, I do know that professionals in that area are highly regarded. Again no idea how that implies to OP but just my 2 cents worth.

Revel78

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply. It is very much appreiciated. To give more details.

My gf was married but recently divorced. She had just gained an LPR. We met travelling so haven't been together too long (12 months). Obviously getting hitched is a big step and I would rather not just jump into it for immigration purposes, but I will if that is what I have to.

Oil Geoscientists are of a highly skilled profession. I know that in the UK, companies will certainly entertain bringing in immigrants to fill skill gaps in this discipline and frequently do (from places like France, Venezuela, Nigeria, SE Asia). However, it may be that the USA does not have such a skill gap. Can anyone point me in the direction of some websites that could help here?

My current company does not have interests outside the UK (except NYSE!), so in order to get a move within a company from UK to USA would realistically look like a 18-24 month plan. And even this would not come with guarentees!

Paul

Weeze

I don't know if it helps but I think oilcareers.com are the ones that used to have adverts around Aberdeen. They parked advertising vans outside the big companies like Exxon etc!

Noorah101

1. Never get married just for immigration purposes, that is illegal. If you were planning to marry anyway, and just move the wedding date up, that's fine.

2. If your gf received her LPR status via marriage to a USC, there might be restrictions on when she can file an I-130 for you. Make sure you research this carefully if you decide to go the marriage route.

3. The category for spouse of LPR has a backlog. Make sure you understand how long you might be waiting for your visa number to become available if you go the marriage route. Just a short time ago, the backlog was about 5 years long. Lately, it's sped up to around one year. But by the time you want to get hitched and she can file an I-130, who knows.

Rene

Ray

As of November 2010 the wait is 4 months

Revel78

Thanks for your answers, but rest assured, this is not a bid to get into the US through a sham marriage. We want to be together and are exploring other avenues (which may include her coming to the UK, but it may be more difficult for her career). However, I also think I would like to move to America, so that is my personal preference. All your inputs are helpful to me in making the best decision.

Paul

Noorah101

Wow, that's even faster than it takes USCIS to approve the I-130!!

Rene