Jon5465

Hi all,

My partner and I are are practicing architects here in the UK. I qualified here in London and she qualified in Paris where she is from as she is French.

We are fed up with the restrictive natures of UK architecture and also with the life we have here in England (we live in Brighton to be specific).

We've discussed in detail for the past 6 months our options and as her brother has recently made the transition from France to LA successfully with his company we've decided to try and follow suit by looking for potential recruitment in LA.

We are aware if we want to be 'practicing architects' in LA we need to get re licenced so to speak but that will not be a problem.

If anybody has experience making a similar move we'd really appreciate any advice / pointers regarding how to find potential recruitment and sponsership etc.

Sorry if this seems a little hazey, If I've missed out any salient info please let me know and I'll fill in the blanks.

Many thanks,

Jon

Bob

I wouldn't be so sure that it's a trivial thing. It usually isn't, but depends on the state.

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

That outlines the various common routes. Company transfer is the best option or you'd need to be quick off the bat as the new quota opens in April for a October start and it's been filling quicker than it has been, though without being state certified that might be more of a issue.

Really boils down to networking and having niche skills. If you've got commercial projects under your belt, malls, office parks, that kind of stuff, you'd probably have a much better chance of things than if it's mostly civilian stuff because housing here is a lot different than the UK on construction and design.

Good luck though and welcome to BE!

King Gimp

You might want to look a little harder at getting 're-licensed'

I have a very solid UK engineering background. Getting 're-licensed' in the US means starting all over again from the beginning. No exceptions - certainly not within the engineering industry anyway.

good luck anyway!

Jon5465

We are not intending to work as qualified architects immediately. Just as you can in the uk we intend to work as 'designers' for architectural firms. I've seen cases of where this loophole has been employed before online, but I was wondering whether anybody had direct experience of the like on this forum...

Many thanks for the first link, but it seems without an employer or 'sponsor' in the US there's not much point in applying for a H1B visa.

Many thanks for the feed back and encouragements all.

Jon

Michael

Not only is there not much point but it can't be done since H-1B visas must be applied for by the employer.

Bob

You can't self sponsor for a H1B, that's the point. You need an employer. There are potential self sponsors for O1 I believe, but that's not likely for your kind of work and going the EB1 route on your own is probably a tough sell.

Thing is, with a H1B, the position must require a degree, you must have one related, which means faffing around as a "designer" would probably not work. Then you need to over come the aspect of not being able to start till the following October and the visa costing the company several thousand. When they could hire someone from a pool of thousands who could start tomorrow and not have the relocation costs involved.

Your best bet really would be a L1 company transfer, but you need to have worked for the company at least a year within the previous 3 and be either in management or have niche specialist company knowledge. This has the benefit of allowing the spouse to work which the H1B would not.

sir_eccles

If their work is world renowned they might have a chance at an O1, Foster or Gehry level probably needed though.

Sally Redux

I'm not clear how working as a designer here will be less restrictive than working as an architect in the UK.

Michael

My son has a masters in Architectural Design (not Architectural Engineering) which normally doesn't require a license in most states. Although he does engineering calculations while designing his projects, an Architectural Engineer must redo all the calculations before the project is signed off.

Many other Architectural Designers pass off their work to Architectural Engineers at each stage of the project and don't get involved in the engineering aspect.

jackattack

Having hired (and worked with) architects in both the UK and California, I can safely say that California was FAR more restrictive than the UK. The hoops that we have had to jump though in order to get building approval here in California has been nothing short of scandalous (yes, we are dealing with a seismically active area so I do appreciate a certain level of over engineering).

It has been far from innovative. We weren't even trying to be that radical in what we were building but were literally left running in circles between different departments of the city because no-one could agree who was responsible and who had the ability to make the final decision as to whether or not we could do it.

Backwards, bureaucratic, check the box, fill in the form, write the cheque.

If that's the reason that you want to leave the UK, then I'd suggest looking somewhere else, because you won't find California less restrictive.

Have you thought about China?

scrubbedexpat099

They each need a Sponsor, presumably somewhere near to each other.

Jon5465

Thanks for taking the time to write all that Jackattack. This aside, California just makes too much sense for us for us.

Ill elaborate on why we are feeling somewhat disheartened here in the Uk.

With regards to our careers... It's not necessarily just the restrictiveness of uk planning & constructing but the overwhelming levels of conservation which seems to be the backbone of the London based architectural work. I'm aware the uk is steeped in history, but still getting to the point where the industry is stagnating in itself. Plus, architects in LA get paid on average £12-15k more per year, another great incentive.

Also, as I have mentioned, my partners brother is now the proud owner of a green card in LA and is planning on settling down there. We have visited many time and find the lifestyle, location & weather to be much better suited to us than that of the like here in Brighton.

I suppose what I'm saying (probably like 99% of the people who want to move to America) is that we would like a fresh start.

It's going to be a tough challenge but I feel we are determined enough to take it on.

I would still appreciate any similar success stories from people who have attempted the same (or similar) feats.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Jon

scrubbedexpat099

Santiago Calatrava is working on Denver's airport extension.

christmasoompa

It would be a tough sell getting one employer to go through the cost/hassle of hiring you over a USC, but two?!

Putting the accreditation side of things aside, just from a visa point of view that'll be incredibly tough.

Best of luck to you both.

ian-mstm

That's only fair... since it'll cost you that much extra just to live in LA!


Once her brother becomes a US citizen, he can sponsor her for an immigrant visa... and in about 10-13 years afterwards, she'll get a visa. I understand that's going to be a long-term solution, but it's one of the easiest... all you have to do is wait. To take advantage of her visa, you will need to be married to her.

Ian