QAguy

Hi all,

I like many of you share a similar goal of trying to work and live in the USA and thought this would be a good place to potentially find an answer to a question I've had. For some background, I am 35 and have 6 years of experience in QA (Quality assurance/software testing), with a senior role but not managerial, although I have previously worked as a lead/manager. Included some extensive work trips to clients in silicon valley but also around New York and Boston, further cementing my desire to move to the US.

I understand that H1-B visas are a common route for software engineers, and even though the process seems fraught with compromise I wonder, could it be even more difficult for a software tester? It's not quite as specialized and I cannot code to the level of a developer - it's a somewhat different discipline. I have seen discussions on these boards around employee sponsorship and I am fortunate in that respect that I work for an American software company, but I'm assuming it would be a bit out of the blue for me to approach them about requesting to move to a new continent. I live in Northern Ireland, btw.

Still, while I have a degree (in English, useless!) and a Masters in Creative Writing (even more useless!) I only started the career afterwards, via a training scheme which included a general professional QA certificate. I understand that the viability of attaining these visas can come down to holding a degree in the set field you work in - a problem for me, potentially here. Could this be a deal breaker?

My partner also works for a US firm at management level, so perhaps any advice that could apply to me could also apply to her. She does at least have a relevant degree.

I also have a fairly crappy auto-immune issue that I was diagnosed with, but I am still functioning despite the additional pain it now causes. It has not disabled me but I do now suffer periods of ill health as a result of it. I don't wish it to exclude me on these grounds alone as that in itself feels like a bit of a death sentence, tbh.

We put ourselves through our degrees and had little guidance at the time, mostly working in menial jobs before specializing into the roles we have now. In hindsight, I could have made wiser choices, as I fear the ones I did have ruined any chance I might have had. Oh well, we applied for the diversity lottery this year for fun, there's always that I suppose, although the chances seem vanishingly small. Many thanks for reading my post and for any advice you may have. Some of the stories here are quite inspiring!

Noorah101

If your partner (spouse) has a degree in the field she's working in, and the company has offices in the USA, and she's at the right level and has worked for them for more than 1 year, that seems a better route than your path. What is her degree in and what is her job now?

Note that "partner" in the USA means not married. You would need to be legally married in order for you to get a derivative visa based on hers.

Rene

QAguy

Thanks for the quick response. Her degree is in Business and she works as the global payroll manager of another software firm. We'll be marrying in the new year

Noorah101

I'm not sure if they would transfer a payroll manager, as payroll in the USA would be different than the UK, but couldn't hurt to ask.

Rene

QAguy

That's the thing, it's global payroll, so includes the US and all their other countries. Anyway, I'm aware of how difficult the process can be even in the best of conditions. It never hurts to be optimistic, all the same, but realistic too I suppose.

civilservant

tht

Nutmegger

As you will have read, the US is not the best country for those with health issues, as the NHS "safety net" we are all used to does not exist. If you are successful in obtaining a visa, it will obviously be through employment, so any decent job will come with health insurance (though that does not mean that you will not be out of pocket for both premiums and expenses). However, do the periods of ill health cause you to miss work? That could be a deal breaker for a US employer, where vacation time and sick time are often one and the same, and a 15 day per year allotment is generous.

rpjs

scrubbedexpat099

The obvious route is a L, either through you or her.

TexanScot

It's actually not difficult at all to transfer someone on an L-1 - if the employer has blanket authorization then you could literally be working in the US in a matter of weeks.

The biggest barrier to an L-1 transfer is going to be political - they aren't going to transfer someone unless there is a position available (or will be made available) for them, and an open position won't be filled with a transferee unless there is management approval driving it forward.

H-1B of course is a different ballgame altogether.
I was over in the US about a month and a half after receiving my offer, and the bulk of that time was spent wrapping up my UK affairs and negotiating with HR/payroll over the alignment of start and end dates; my actual visa took about two weeks from submitting the paperwork to having it back in my hand.

QAguy

Many thanks to you all for the responses. I guess we should just keep doing what we're doing for the moment and hope some opportunities stateside open up in our respective companies, then seize the moment. Oh well, if I have any luck I'll be sure to let you all know!

TexanScot

If I could offer you any advice it would be not to view this as any sort of passive process.

You'll need to actively push to be staffed on high visibility projects, get yourself associated with US-based teams and US-based management structures, push for any secondment opportunities that might arise and generally just build a name for yourself with the people that can make this happen for you.

I wouldn't be here if I hadn't pushed for secondment to a US-based project and actually asked the local management if they would be able to approve a position for me (the position didn't exist originally - it was created just for me).

Don't just sit back and hope that an opportunity opens up - do your best to make one open up.

QAguy

Yeah, I hear you and all of that makes sense. I've actually done this before in an earlier job only to get shafted right before the end, or at least it felt like that, so I do know I'll need to strategically approach my own job in the way you've described. We are trying to do that but it's dependent on the company a lot, unfortunately, and the opportunities that arise.

robtuck

I got my opportunity to move by walking in and letting the VP know I was leaving the business (not right then, but had started the process of looking) which ended in a conversation about what options existed for both of us.

Now, that's the short version, it really started 3 years prior to that when I took the job knowing there was an outside chance there in the future given we were USA owned. To stand any chance I had to have confidence that I could gain at least one promotion and position myself in such a way to be seen as a valuable employee. I had built relationships with the Stateside SVP as well. I had started researching the possibility a further couple of years before that move.

As mentioned above, mine was a quick move under a Blanket L1A Visa - once we decided it was going ahead, it took four months to the move date, although it was a total of 11 months after having that conversation to go through the soul searching, check out the location, convince others in the USA and so on, so that the move was going to be worth it once I committed.