marcnotrust

Hi All,

Quick Introduction, My names Marc and I am 26 year old Telecoms Network Engineer. For the last few years me and my wife have discussed the idea of emigrating, and having been to a few different countries we have decided that America is where want to go.

Over the last few weeks we have started the ball rolling on what will be our plans to emigrate. We are looking at moving in around 3 years time, mainly due to allowing the housing market to get better so we can sell our house, but also, it will give me just over 10 years experience in Telecoms/Networking.

I was just interested to know if there are any Cisco CCIE Engineers on here who have made the move to the states on the back of this, and how they are finding it etc.

Thanks,
Marc

christmasoompa

Are you or your wife a US citizen? If not, you'll need a visa which for many people proves impossible - the US is notorious as one of the hardest countries to immigrate to. Have a read of this and see which you think you may qualify for............http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulaski's_Ways:_How_to_Live_and_Work_in_the_USA

No idea if you would qualify for any visa with your job and if any employer would be prepared to sponsor you, but if not consider somewhere much easier like Oz/NZ/Canada maybe?

marcnotrust

Sorry yes, Looking at it it seems like H-1B would be the way to go for us.

christmasoompa

OK. Qualifying for a H1B is great, but obviously you've got to find an employer prepared to go through the wait/hassle/cost of applying for one for you. No idea if your job is specialist or not, and if it's in demand in the US, but maybe have a read of the forum to see how to go about finding that all important job offer.

Good luck.

marcnotrust

Hi,

Thanks again for the reply. I have been reading for months on forums and books etc on the whole process (and your right...its not easy!!!).

I would say my job is fairly specialist in the sense that some of my qualifications are top level within the telecoms/networking industry.

Job demand however is something I am not 100% about. That is why I am ideally looking for other CCIE's who may of made the move similar to what I would like to do. I appreciate the American Job market is as dire as the UKs at the moment, but like I said, we are looking at making the move in good few years anyways.

Failing that - my other option would be to find a job with a multi-national and then look for a transfer on a L1 etc.

Cheers,
Marc

penguinsix

Do you have a University degree or are you aiming for the 12 years of experience option? Either way it is still a rough road, especially when there are so many Indians and Chinese engineers who will work for less and have an established network to open the doors (IIT & Tsinghua good old boys).

Also, have you spent much time in the US?

marcnotrust

At present I don't have a degree no, So I would be aiming for exp plus my specialist certs. I am toying with the idea of doing a Open University degree next year if it would help.

By time in the states if you mean working then no, other than a few holidays. Plus, we have a few more trips planned for back end of this year also.

The more I speak to different people the harder I think its going to be, but once we have the money together and I have a few more years experience and stuff I'll just see how it goes. And hopefully in this time the job markets will be improved and they may of made some changes to their immigration policies.

Duncan Roberts

There are many, many cisco certified professionals in the US who can work without visa sponsorship and there are many, many more who are getting certified every day. The US telecoms system, as I understand it, is very, very different to the UK one. If that is the case then your skills may not mean much if they don't transfer well. I think you have a very hard task to even get an interview let alone a job offer, visa sponsorship and visa approval. Also keep in mind that on an H-1b you are tied to that employer, you cannot freely move to a different employer, your status in the US is tied to that employer so some companies hold you to ransom (eg. you will work 80 hours a week because if you don't we'll let you go and you will have to leave the country), the employer has no obligation to keep you on or sponsor a greencard and any dependents you have (like your wife) won't be able to work.

marcnotrust

Ha ha ha - depressing stuff this guys!! Sounds like emigrating will put some grey hairs on my head.

The more I look into, the more I think I should forget the idea. Another alternative I may have is to work for a company that has American operations.

Duncan Roberts

Unless you have immediate, US citizen family (or fiance) then it is very, very hard to get into the US unless you fit into one of the very narrow visa categories. You have the added problem with work based visas of actually securing a job in the first place which in itself is very, very hard.

md95065

OK, it is certainly difficult to find a job in an area where there is a plentiful supply of suitably qualified US citizens and, yes, there are also engineers from other countries competing for those positions but I have to say that I am getting more that a little tired of the frequent jibes at "Indian and Chinese engineers" that seem to pop up in these forums whenever the topic of employment in high tech industries is being discussed.

You came to (or want to) come to the US to work - so did they - what is the difference? Do you really think that Brits never get jobs through networking or sacrifice some salary for the chance to move to the US?

EricK

I am the global Network manager for a large US based multinational - I moved here to the East Coast on an L1A transfer from the UK last year. Trust me, there is no shortage of highly trained and skilled Cisco qualified professionals who are US citizens. Your best bet is going to be through an inter company transfer with a UK employer. You will find it almost impossible to get a US employer to sponsor you for an H1B visa when there is a plentiful supply of CCIE's over here.

marcnotrust

Thanks for the advice mate - Shattering, but It gives me a good idea of direction.

Do you have any jobs going? ha ha ha!

EricK

If you want to stay 100% as a tech your best bet would be to look for a position with a company that provides outsourcing services - T Systems, TCS etc. Whilst they may not be your first preference in terms of a company that will offer you the best package and benfits, it will give you the best chances of getting a transfer by being placed at a client of theirs that is US based - if moving to the US is your highest priority over pay.

marcnotrust

Thanks again for the advice guys.

A lot to take in.