DavidPower

Hello all,
I'm currently a 23 year old UK Citizen, and last year I graduate from University with a Masters Degree in Computing, and the year before that a Bachelors degree, also in Computing. I'm looking/hoping to get a job in the USA, with the ultimate goal of moving out there permanently and becoming a US citizen, however I'm not sure where the best place is to look for jobs that might help me achieve that.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Ray

There is no shortage of people with that qualification in the US
and the whole of the Indian sub continent as well..

What you need is a job there with an international company
who transfer staff around the world ..work your way up
the ladder and the world is opened too you ....experience is a must


Or marry a US girl

DavidPower

Hm, well the second option, as tempting as it is, still raises the issues of getting a job and money, heh.

The first suggestion is probably the best to go with, though does anyone know of any US companies that might have anything such as Graduate training programs? Particularly one's that might sponsor me in becoming a US Citizen whilst training for a job with the company?

sdbritguy

Try an oil company. Although you might end up in Houston

Ray

Why would any company go to that expense.. you have to have a green card for
5 years before becoming a citizen ..and getting a GC can take that time as well

take a read here ..pick your visa

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

Andrew Wilson

David,

With respect to U.S. immigration options to work in the U.S., the most common is known as the H-1B. I am sure you have come across it before.

The main problem with the H-1B is that there is a cap each fiscal year on how many initial H-1Bs may be approved. For most people, an H-1B may not be filed until April 1, 2009 for a start date of October 1, 2009.

One option that may be quicker than that is the L-1. It is an intra-company transfer visa that requires the individual to work abroad at a company for at least one year prior to being transferred to the U.S.

In addition, if you are able to find a UK owned business in the U.S., you may be able to qualify as an E-2 essential worker.

Good luck.

Andrew M. Wilson, Esq.

Noorah101

No company will sponsor you for US Citizenship. What they *might* sponsor you for is your Permanent Residency (green card). Once you have been a PR for 5 years, you then can apply for citizenship on your own.

Rene

pejpm1

The idea of already wanting to become a US citizen is fairly ridiculous unless you have actually lived here, I think you should concentrate on just getting here first. Why the rush on becoming a citizen? If you get a green card you could live here for the rest of your life without becoming a citizen if you want. Any particular reason you'd want to be a US citizen?

Your best bet would be to get a job with a UK company that has a US office and then see where you can go from there. The type of visa you would be eligible for is known as the L1B. I'm 25 and live in NYC and moved over with my company on an L1B visa. I work in IT also and the process was relatively straight forward even for someone like me who didnt even go to uni. You should probably look at finance companies such as banks and hedge funds (i work for a hedge fund) as they often have offices globally, although now might not be the best time as I doubt many are hiring on a large scale at the moment! I used to work for HSBC and they had a graduate scheme that often posted people around the world. When I was at the embassy in London I got talking to a guy who was a year younger than me but was being moved out to NYC on an L1B with HSBC so it is possible.

The idea of moving over on an H1B through sponsorship isnt 100% impossible, but it's close to it. It's incredibly unlikely to the point that it probably isnt worth wasting your energy on trying the direct route. A recent graduate simply wont have the experience required for a company to bother going through the hassle of sponsorship, and even if they did it's still very unlikely as there is a cap on the number of L1B's.

Good luck, if you persevere it is possible. I went from being offered a job in NYC to actually getting here in less than 6 months. If you try, you can do it.

md95065

The remark about a recent graduate "not having the experience required for a company to bother going through the hassle of sponsorship" is not completely accurate.

I work for a fairly well known software company that hires a large number of the very best graduates in the US, Europe and elsewhere and getting them appropriate visas is just part of the cost of doing business in a highly competitve international market - if we didn't get them the visas then one of our competitors probably would. Now that doesn't mean that it is *easy*, and the cap on H1B visas means that there are often people that we want to have working for us in the US that have to work out of one of our European offices for an extended period, but it can be done.

Bob

Yeah, but it's terribly rare that a company like yours will go to the lengths for what is basically an expensive lottery and with the timelines available for a recent graduate without any experience, especially when there are already loads of qualified and experienced people who are work authorised and here now...

MsElui

i would aslo expect that we are talking the absolute cream of the crop and those individuals would have the offers on the mat already - not really having to go seek them out.

DavidPower

Boy, lots to look into. I've got my work cut out for me by the looks of things.

One option my parents also raised was rather than going to work in the US right away, was to possibly do a PhD at an american university rather than waiting to do one in a UK university. Does anyone know what the usual kind of admission process is for that? Or perhaps what kind of processes are involved?

pejpm1

I dont know about uni, but you could always apply for an internship scheme over here...

http://www.mountbatten.org/mipweb.nsf/pages/ny_about_us

The work would probably be very basic, but it'd get you a foot in the door and who knows what might happen? I know a couple of people that were ale to stay after doing mountbatten...

Andrew Wilson

David,

If you were interested in pursuing a PhD in the US, you would be looking at the F-1 visa. You should contact the foreign student office of any college or university you are interested in attending. They can help with the I-20 paperwork and F-1 visa process.

Regards,

Andrew M. Wilson, Esq.
[email protected]

Bob

F1 student visa limits how much work you can do, so depending on the phd, this might or might not be a problem, but it'll reflect how much it'll cost, which can be very costly, but would depend on where you applied.