LeeWillo

There are some nice european spots. I have a friend in Amsterdam, I like it there when you get away from the tourist spots.

penguinsix

Thanks for the update as it helps sort out a few bits. Many people tell us "visa is sorted" but really isn't, or they get involved with an "agent" who is nothing more than a scam artist. Posters here simply get tired of going into all the details about banks and car leases and schooling and vacation time when the reality is the person hasn't much of a chance in the first place and is almost egging us on. Your mentioning the H1-B and your chances will convince many of the regulars here to start addressing your specific questions instead of the litmus test "do you have a visa" that is frequently used.

Unfortunately, the exact answer to your leave question is not easy as there is no such thing as an "entitlement" or statutory leave, but more of an industry-by-industry and seniority-based system. The US Department of Labor does publish some statistics on paid holiday (i.e. bank holiday) and vacation leave policies though that might help you:

Holidays and Vacation
http://www.bls.gov/opub/perspectives/issue2.pdf
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs.t05.htm (this is about 15 years old but the reality is it hasn't changed much)

Paid Sick Leave:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf

This is another good study from Harvard that you might find interesting:

"No Vacation Nation"
http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/...o_Holidays.pdf

I should also note that culturally, leave is treated somewhat differently in the US. Most Americans do not use their full leave and the concept of taking > 2 weeks off consecutively would probably require special dispensation from senior management in many companies. It's not normally done in some companies. Many official government holidays are not celebrated in some companies as well. During your negotiations be sure to ask about "vacation time", "public holidays" and "sick leave" polices (to use the US terms). As another mentioned, also check about health insurance but that's a whole another thread you can start when it gets to that point...

A few other things about the H1-B that might be helpful. As you noted, there is a time to apply (after April 1) and then a time when you can actually enter, which is after October 1. However, this year (April 2013) the number of applications was so high that the quota limit was exceeded in just five days. That means the earliest you can apply again is April 1, 2014 for entrance into the United States on October 1, 2014. Should give you plenty of time to get packed.

http://www.murthy.com/2013/04/08/h1b...titions-filed/

One other note about the H1-B--your wife will not be able to work. Well, she won't be able to work off of your H1-B but she could still get her own. Unfortunately as a teacher she would need a sponsor (i.e a US public school funded with taxpayer money) to sponsor her, which very rarely happens. Some private schools might try but they'd have to convince immigration that in a time of thousands and thousands of layoffs around the country they "can't find an American" to do the job. I think you mentioned she wasn't planning on working but if her income was necessary than you might have to plan around that in your negotiations with your company.

By the way, do you have Australian citizenship? There is a special E3 visa for Australians that mirrors the H1-B program but is essentially a set-aside from the quote limits. If you are close to citizenship (and interested in getting it) this might be a way to get around the H1-B quotas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-3_visa

Good luck.

LeeWillo

I know i said I didn't want to know about visa's but thanks for your info. That makes sense as to why the employer wants or has to wait until next year.
I didn't know my wife wouldn't be able to work on it as well. I imagine she will want to work in a little while when the kids are a little older, but probably only something part time so she can be home when they get home from nursery and childcare however that may turn out.

I don't have australian citizenship unfortunately. I am here on a 457 which I gather is quite similar to this H1B in that it is an employer sponsored government approved temporary working visa.

LeeWillo

This is interesting thanks. I've lifted this straight out of the document you refered to:


screen capture program
Figure 1 summarizes the legal right to paid leave for 21 of the richest countries in the world (see also Table 1 and the detailed country notes in the appendix). Where applicable and separate from paid leave, the figure also shows the total number of legally mandated paid public holidays. From left to right, countries are ordered from most generous (France, 30 days) to the least generous (the
United States, 0 days).

I'm suprised that the US is the bottom of the list for holiday entitlements. I just assumed that probably the most influential nation in the world would be forward thinking in ensuring people don't get 'burnt out' through work.

LeeWillo

The more I look at the graph the more astounded I am by it!

Zen10

That E3 idea is a really good one - is Australian citizenship something you could get without too much hassle? I'm unsure about the 457 pathway.

LeeWillo

Not really. I don't know if you've seen one of my other threads but my wife isn't a fan of australia. It would take us another 2 1/2 years to get Oz citizenship. Unless that was the only way in. As I said, I always find a way!

It could well be that we don't get the H1B visa for whatever reason, someone has said they have a restriction on the number given out. Unless the new employer has something to favour them. It is a government infrastructure project so maybe that would help. Then if we didn't get in that way could look at Oz citizenship to get it. I don't know the ins and outs of that one though I'm sure it can't be that easy.

Zen10

I see. Have you thought about Canada perhaps? That has a points system similar to Australia's, you would get (slightly) more annual leave and you would be close to the US for holidays.

Pollyana

Not against the rules in posts like this, and it might actually help people to help you if they know who is advising you. Like in the Aus forums we advise people to use MARA registered agents, the guys in the US fourms can soon tell you whether you are getting good advice if they know the background and qualifications of the person or company advising you .

penguinsix

I think at the moment the quota is 65,000 but in the on again / off again immigration bill there is always talk of lifting the quota. In the first five days they received 124,000 applications. Yea, that crazy.

That's why the E3 was nice--you are sort of in a carve out category for that visa, but understand it would probably take too long in the end.

H1-B is only a three-year temporary visa. You can extend it another three-years but after that you have to get rolling on a permanent residency application or head back home. As you consider your negotiations, you might want to get, in writing, that company agrees to sponsor you for a "green card" permanent residency.

Pollyana

You would need at least a year as a permanent resident in Aus to qualify for citizenship, just four years on a 457 won't do it, so you would need to look at whether you can get PR.

scrubbedexpat091

I just wanted to add a bit about Canada, 8 holidays is just the minimum, it will vary a bit by province, in BC for instance this year we have 10 holidays as there are a couple provincial holidays that may not be holidays elsewhere.

The basic 8 are just the federal holidays.

scrubbedexpat099

Should be easy enough to find out what is the norm for hols with the Company interested in sponsoring you and then it is all down to whether you have negotiating clout.

If your wife wants to work even part time, well not for you.

Cardienscarf

That's Boulder time though.

Denver rush hour starts at 3 (2 on Friday's) and lasts until 7. A lot of people work staggered hours to avoid rush hour. It makes rush hour longer instead of coming to a complete standstill at 5.

scrubbedexpat099

7?

470 was pretty much empty at 6.15