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H1 B - how do you get it?

H1 B - how do you get it?

Old Sep 15th 2006, 5:05 am
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Default H1 B - how do you get it?

Are there any brits in the US who went over without a job to look for a job and then got a visa?

From what I can tell, that is the ONLY way I would be able to get into the States.

I have a degree and have about 10 years experience in IT
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 9:11 am
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Budowsky
Are there any brits in the US who went over without a job to look for a job and then got a visa?

From what I can tell, that is the ONLY way I would be able to get into the States.

I have a degree and have about 10 years experience in IT
An IT degree and any amount of experience are unlikely to be sufficient to interest an employer in sponsoring you for an H1-B unless you have particularly unusual IT skills. Sponsoring an H1-B costs the company thousands of dollars, not to mention the relocation costs, so most companies will avoid you like the plague unless you have a skill that is either extremely unusual or highly in demand. Unfortunately neither applies to most IT skills.

Not to mention the fact that you're not allowed to look for work while you're over here on a Visa Waiver, and that if they suspect that's what you're doing when you arrive, they may just turn you back at the port of entry.

I know this sounds excessively discouraging, and perhaps someone else can provide words of encouragement, but unless you have great connections out here that will get your foot in the door with a US company, I'd be surprised if you can find anyone to sponsor an H1-B.

Your best bet is to find a job with a US company in the UK, work for them for a year in a senior position and then apply for a transfer to a US branch of the same company on an L1-A or L1-B visa.

Even then, if you're going to want to stay beyond 7 years you'll have to a) persuade them to sponsor you for your Green Card and b) go through Labor Certification, where you prove that there are no US workers capable and willing to do your job. The latter can be very difficult if your skills are in an over-subscribed field such as IT.

Still, I wish you good luck. As someone who came over here 3.5 years ago on an H1-B, and who just received their Green Card I don't want this to sound like sour grapes - I'm just aware that the whole H1-B route can be very difficult.
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 8:28 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

You do not go through Labor Certification on an L1-A
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 8:49 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Budowsky
Are there any brits in the US who went over without a job to look for a job and then got a visa?

From what I can tell, that is the ONLY way I would be able to get into the States.

I have a degree and have about 10 years experience in IT
So have a million people on the Indian sub continent who will work for far less than you ...
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 8:49 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Budowsky
From what I can tell, that is the ONLY way I would be able to get into the States. I have a degree and have about 10 years experience in IT
If you have relevant skills, it's possible - worked for me 10 years ago, though not that it was something I necessarily wanted, it just happened.
My company has on occassion recruited people on H-1B...but to be honest it's no cakewalk. Depends on whether the individual has the skills we need.
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 9:00 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Ray
So have a million people on the Indian sub continent who will work for far less than you ...
Key issue is language skills...find relatively few people with good enough verbal/written skills to work well in teams and produce good design docs.

For IS (IT?), language skills even more of an issue, but there's no shortage of people with MCSE stuff, so unlikely H1B is a possibility.

istr that back in the 90s, used to be numerous "consultancies" that filled up the H1B quotas with cheap labour...then outsourcing became trendy, until that was found out as being a con...am waiting with bated breath for the latest money saving software development brainwave...
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 9:08 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

I know you can't work on the VWP, but can you really not look for a job whilst on it? The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. I couldn't find a reference to not being able to seek employment, just that you cannot actually work whilst in the country.

Surely entering the US on the VWP and finding a job, then leaving the US and applying for a visa is legal?



Originally Posted by dbj1000
Not to mention the fact that you're not allowed to look for work while you're over here on a Visa Waiver, and that if they suspect that's what you're doing when you arrive, they may just turn you back at the port of entry.
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 9:45 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by dbj1000
Not to mention the fact that you're not allowed to look for work while you're over here on a Visa Waiver, and that if they suspect that's what you're doing when you arrive, they may just turn you back at the port of entry.
You can look, but you've got to prove you don't have intent to stay, which might be hard to do.

But anyway, H1B...it won't happen anytime soon because of the quota, you won't be finding anyont willing to wait to sponsor you, which they could do next April, for an Oct start...so that's a year away....

Best bet, get in contact with friends, networking is the key, and also those mindless sights such as monster, careerbuilder, linkedin and other social networking sites might be worth a go.

I don't think linkedin is that great for getting a job, but it's good to search companies for a name of someone you could address your application to...
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 10:35 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Texas_Dave
I know you can't work on the VWP, but can you really not look for a job whilst on it? The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. I couldn't find a reference to not being able to seek employment, just that you cannot actually work whilst in the country.

Surely entering the US on the VWP and finding a job, then leaving the US and applying for a visa is legal?
Well I told the immigration officers when I was entering and leaving the US for my interview out here, that I was over here for a job interview. That's about as clear cut 'job-seeking' as it gets. They had no problem with it.
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 10:37 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Bob
You can look, but you've got to prove you don't have intent to stay, which might be hard to do.

But anyway, H1B...it won't happen anytime soon because of the quota, you won't be finding anyont willing to wait to sponsor you, which they could do next April, for an Oct start...so that's a year away....

Best bet, get in contact with friends, networking is the key, and also those mindless sights such as monster, careerbuilder, linkedin and other social networking sites might be worth a go.

I don't think linkedin is that great for getting a job, but it's good to search companies for a name of someone you could address your application to...

OK, next question.

What would be a good way to enter the States? I am thinking of retraining (IT has been good, but need a change), and looking to the future, what would be the best line of work to be in?

I am looking at some kind of nursing/medical qualification, or journalism. Or both, eg Medical journalism.

BTW - im interested in these fields and not really interested in doing something just so I can get into the States. For example, I have no interest in becoming a lawyer.
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 10:38 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Drebin
Well I told the immigration officers when I was entering and leaving the US for my interview out here, that I was over here for a job interview. That's about as clear cut 'job-seeking' as it gets. They had no problem with it.
Looks like I'm wrong then. However, the one time I was pulled over and interrogated for 3 hours at Dallas when I was a student, all they kept asking me was whether I was going to be attending job interviews. I guess the issue there was that I had plenty of family in the US, and they wanted to be sure I would return home at the end of my vacation.
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Old Sep 15th 2006, 10:44 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

I dunno, I guess there's every chance that the guys at immigration in my case were in a good mood.
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Old Sep 16th 2006, 6:29 am
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Budowsky
OK, next question.

What would be a good way to enter the States? I am thinking of retraining (IT has been good, but need a change), and looking to the future, what would be the best line of work to be in?

I am looking at some kind of nursing/medical qualification, or journalism. Or both, eg Medical journalism.

BTW - im interested in these fields and not really interested in doing something just so I can get into the States. For example, I have no interest in becoming a lawyer.

can be done with nursing but a few things to be aware of. Nurse training in the UK doesn't cover all of the requirements for nursing in the US so before you start need to come to some sort of arrangement with uni on meeting US requirements. Once passed NCLEX (US nursing exam) and you have found employer willing to petition you for greencard can still take 12 months before you can move. So with training and processing you are looking at approx 4-5 years before moving to the US.

even meeting all requirements is not a guarantee that the US will approve your application
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Old Sep 16th 2006, 7:20 am
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Silverdragon102
can be done with nursing but a few things to be aware of. Nurse training in the UK doesn't cover all of the requirements for nursing in the US so before you start need to come to some sort of arrangement with uni on meeting US requirements. Once passed NCLEX (US nursing exam) and you have found employer willing to petition you for greencard can still take 12 months before you can move. So with training and processing you are looking at approx 4-5 years before moving to the US.

even meeting all requirements is not a guarantee that the US will approve your application
Thanks for that.

Well I am looking longer term. So five years would be something to aim for.

I haven't decided but I am leaning towards a journalism qualification, so nursing may be in another lifetime....and so might the US.
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Old Sep 16th 2006, 3:44 pm
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Default Re: H1 B - how do you get it?

Originally Posted by Budowsky

I haven't decided but I am leaning towards a journalism qualification, so nursing may be in another lifetime....and so might the US.
That'll be tougher to get into the US, for a start there are loads already here, secondly you'll have bugger all experience, so that's pretty much a no goer, unless you work for a UK paper etc and they post you abroad to cover a story, but that wouldn't be long term, nor a greencard....and if you wanted them to transfer you over to a US arm of the paper, you'll need tonnes of experience and clout for them to bother...
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