red_onion

I came over to Toronto on the back of TWP sponsored by a tech company and currently working. I have PR application in progress. My field of work is highly skilled IT security and Infrastructure. I have a desire to live and work in the US at some point. What are the chances of H1B being successful considering it is now a 'lottery'? Am I right? and which website is a good resource for opportunities in the US? Does me having experience in Canada has any baring on how successful i maybe? Thanks in advance.

Hotscot

Hi Red

You came from the UK and are now working in Canada?

You have a Degree?

Have you checked the US job market for your skills. Dice.com, Indeed.com?

Do you have a strong LinkedIn profile?

Have you approached any companies directly?

red_onion

Hi Hotscot, I have a BSc and MSc from from a reputable UK Uni. 14 years of experience. I have checked those two sites in the past and first thing I see is they wont sponsor visa applicants. I have LinkedIn presence but not as active as I'd like.

Hotscot

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that.

Many large corporations post on those sites. Corporations that do indeed sponsor successful applicants.

Also

Have you researched the organizations in which you'd be interested in working? And have checked their websites for vacancies?

red_onion

Some have specific statement declaring they will not sponsor foreign workers for H1B visa. I have one or two companies that i can directly apply for. How straightforward is being successful from visa side of things? Is it really a lottery?

Hotscot

Carefully read through this then come back with questions if you'd like

Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA : British Expat Wiki

(To answer your questions...it just depends. You may have very desirable skills and experience for some employers but there's no easy way to determine that until you make contacts, network via LinkedIn and apply for jobs.)

Rusty Chainsaw

Maybe stick around in Canada for a few more years until you get citizenship, then try getting a TN-1 (NAFTA) visa. All it really requires is a job offer.

scrubbedexpat099

Seems that you probably could find a job that is H1b friendly.

So let us say you do and they want to sponsor you and wait until October before you could start assuming you are lucky in the lottery.

Lottery itself well the numbers are unknown. So are the odds, my guess is that there will be more applicants this year. 30%?

red_onion

Sounds like a lottery combined with first come bases. Is early start date Oct being related to the time the embassy process takes place or is it set in stone?

scrubbedexpat099

The new visas are issued starting 1st October.

They allow applications from the 1st April.

ian-mstm

It's useful to note that if you were to find a position with a non-profit, there is no visa cap... and therefore you can apply and start work at any time. I can assure you that many colleges and universities in the US (and hospitals also) are looking for people with IT security skills and experience. If you are CISSP certified, that'd be even better. Anyway... just a thought. You'd still need to find a college/university/hospital to sponsor you.

Ian

red_onion

Ian mate, your advice as valuable as ever. thanks. My MSc is in security. If you look at Dice and other sites, hard to find non-profit organisations. I dont know if there is such a site. Back in Blighty it's The Guardian

henryh

Not merely allow, but you'd better have the application in by April 1st or very soon after, because the quota usually fills pretty quickly.

S Folinsky

General Comment: The Federal Government's Fiscal Year starts on October 1st. For example FY 2015 started on October 1, 2014.

So, for purposes of annual limitations in the US Immigration laws, New Years Day is October 1st.

ian-mstm

Try https://www.higheredjobs.com/. It won't distinguish who will or won't sponsor, but you can customize a job search for colleges and universities. Good luck to you.

Ian