Darra

Hi all,

This is my first post so apologies if it contains stuff that it shouldn't.

I have recently been offered a job with Boeing at one of their sites in the Seattle area. The job is through a contract company that are visiting Europe looking for engineers to work with Boeing and they will be processing a Green Card for me and my family.

As the job is a result of this wide scoping recruitment drive I do not have any specific details yet on the role or location other than it is in the Pugent Sound area. The plan is to work as a contractor for a few months and then transfer to a permanent Boeing employee.

I have not yet accepted the offer as a few issues are beginning to crop up in my mind (possibly cold feet??) and I was hoping that someone could give me some advice on the points below:

1. Does anyone here have any experience of working as an engineer for Boeing? If so, how do the working conditions compare to the UK and how are the prospects for career development, I have read that Boeing promote and give responsibility based heavily on time served, is this correct? I'm wondering if I could cope with only 2 weeks holiday per year, I do like the flexibility of 5 weeks holiday that I get in the UK.

2. Is the Pugent Sound area (close to Renton or Everett probably) a good place to raise a family? My son is 8 and my daughter 2 so school quality and good, affordable housing/rentals in a safe area is high on the aganda.

3. How is public transport in the area as neither of us currently have a driving license, although I hope to get one before leaving the UK.

4. How do people find living in the area when compared with the UK?

I hope someone can help with some of my queries.

civilservant

Hi and to BE,

You say they are going to 'process a green card' for you however in reality that is not how it works. In order to get a Green Card (Permenant residence) you will have to apply/be sponsered for a visa.

Usually in the case of skilled workers its a HB1, however there are possible alternatives.

Can you confirm what visa you are being sponsered for? The reasons I ask that it could have some bearing on the other questions you asked

BTJ

Not much point in doing that since it will only be valid in Washington state for 30 days once you become resident - after that time you'll need to get a WA Driver's license by sitting a vision, theory and driving test (they only exchange US, British Columbian, South Korean and German licenses.)

http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/moving.html

Nutmegger

I suggest that you hire an immigration attorney to represent your best interests and make sure that all of this is on the up and up. A "contract company" can't process a green card for you, that can only come from the employer, in this case Boeing you say. Also, do you mean that you would be a contractor working for this "contract company" and then would transfer to being a Boeing employee? That would mean that initially you were employed by the contract company and would need a visa permitting you to work for them, and then another visa would be needed permitting you to work for Boeing.

Before you worry about transportation and the neighbourhoods, you need a lot more clarification about the visa aspect of this. Good luck!

ian-mstm

As civilservant notes, that's not how it works. You must first have a visa... so that needs to be where you concentrate your efforts just now. No visa = no move... it's as simple as that. Then, you need to understand the restrictions on that visa. For example, while you might get an H-1B visa (by the way, that can't be applied for until April 2013 for work starting in October 2013), your spouse would get an H-4 visa and will not be allowed to work. Further, the job must require a university degree... and you must also have a university degree, or 3 years of experience in lieu of each year of university (= read 12 years).

So, I hate to put a damper on your plans, but you need to find out the visa details first before worrying about schools for children.

Oh... while I'm thinking about it - if the company agrees to process you for a green card, get it in writing... because you can't apply on your own once you're in the US. The company must start the process on your behalf... and they don't have to if they don't want to!


Puget Sound!


Respectfully, your questions won't matter until you know whether or not they can sponsor you for a visa, and whether you're eligible for a visa.

Ian

Darra

Thanks for the replies guys.

If I accept the offer the contract house will sponsor me for a Green Card. When I asked about this I was told that this would allow permanent residency and my wife would also be able to work. This process would include all attorneys and processing fees and my family and I would be required to visit the US embassy in London before the process is complete.

I will then take up employment with them working for Boeing. Boeing have instructed me (via the Boeing hiring manager that I spoke to during my interview) that after a period of 6-9 months they would then offer me a permanent role and it would be up to me to decide whether to accept that or to stay with the contract company.

sir_eccles

Still doesn't sound right. They have to sponsor you for a visa first before they can get to green cards. What visa was it?

If you switch employers you need a new visa, I doubt you'd have green cards in 6-9 months.

civilservant

So ask them what visa they will sponsor you for - any usual organization in this situation should have an immigration attorney on retainer and be able to give you this pretty basic bit of info. You CANNOT get a Green Card with applying/being sponsored for a visa.

BTJ

Well they could sponsor him for an EB-2 immigrant visa right off the bat - would take quite a while to process through that though - might be faster than waiting for Oct 2013 H-1Bs. Not sure how that would work with a "contract company" though.

Darra

They never said what visa type they would be applying for, only that it would be a Green Card that I would receive upon starting my employment.

They advertise the role as being part of an 'Accelerated Green Card' program which may reduce the timescales involved.

I know of people that have worked for this company in the past for a year at a time (I presume that this was via an H1-B visa) so have no reason to doubt that they are legitimate.

I'll have a look through the paperwork that they provided with my offer and see if that mentions a visa type and if not I'll contact their immigration department for further information.

Thanks again for the replies.

civilservant

Good luck

It does seem if you know people who have been through this company that they are most likely legit - just good to know where you stand from the get go!

AmerLisa

In response to your original post, you really are going to need to learn how to drive, probably both of you in the long run. There are buses that run, however I can imagine that it would be extremely hard if at least one of you didn't drive a car.

There are good areas around the Puget Sound to live. Real estate is pretty expensive, so hopefully you'll keep that in mind when you're negotiating salary. Once you know where you're actually going to work, then you'll be able to narrow things down a bit further.

Good luck!

sir_eccles

Ok sounds legit, main worry was it was some sort of scam which we've seen here a couple of times. A quick Google for accelerated greencard and Boeing suggests who the job is with. Good luck.

Nutmegger

I see a website that says: . . . . aerospace staffing company [name] has announced an accelerated green card programme designed specifically to help top stress and structural design engineers achieve the American dream.

But I guess I'm missing just how this company can come up with an accelerated programme when there is no UCIS equivalent?

AddyLaddy

We live on the Eastside of Seattle which is sort of between the two main Boeing sites at Everett and Renton. Been here almost two years now, fresh out of Bristol.
It's a beautiful place to live with lots of attractions, lakes, mountains etc. Weather is like home, but with longer, sunnier summers. Winters are depressingly grey.

It is also an expensive place to live and you really do need a very good salary to 'live the American dream'. I'd suggest well in to 6-figures in order to not feel like the poorest people in street. Rent is around $1 per sq ft, and you are looking at up to 2500 sq ft for a decent sized house.

Education in the Lake Washington and Issaquah school districts is meant to be some of the best in the State, if not the whole country. But we still think it falls short of a good comprehensive school in the UK.

I ride the bus to work daily (DT Seattle). So there is public transport, but you could not get by without being able to drive. And yes, you will have to take the WA state driving test within 30 days of arrival. But it's not as hard as the UK one.


But the Visa/GC has to come first. Even EB2 GCs are not being issued currently, so you could be 1-2 years away from being allowed entry.