DanDanDan

Hi everyone.

I'm trying to find a way to get to NYC to live and work and be with my girlfriend who is a US resident and citizen. We've maintained a long distance relationship for 5 and a half years. Yeah.

I came here to hear about peoples similar experiences and hopefully gain some tips and advice on how to do this (good jobsites?). I need an H1B or a TN (I have dual nationality as a Canadian). Been applying for jobs for months now and no Joy. I have a BSC in technology and 5+ years in a corporate environment supporting electronic trading systems. I thought that would make it easy.

I just want to get there as quickly as possible. I hear you asking why we havent married yet. I know thats an obvious option but without going in to detail - its complicated.

Any advice/warnings/tips or anything that could help would be highly appreciated. HELP!

thank you.

Pulaski

Get married. If you both want to continue the relationship it is where you will probably end up anyway, and these days would be legally and functionally little different from a long term/ life long cohabiting arrangement (if you both lived in the same country. Getting a job for that requires a visa is going to be very difficult, perhaps close to impossible, so play the ace you have in your hand, and get married.

I myself tried to get job interviews in New York, with qualifications and relevant experience (in a different field from you, and 12 years ago) and could get no interest sufficient even to generate an interview, much less a job offer. Once I had a marriage visa in process, a short visit to New York generated an embarrassment of interviews and three job offers. Without the marriage visa I suspect I would still be in the UK.

FWIW Mrs P and I were in a similar situation as your and your girlfriend, but decided after just a year that we should plan to get married if we wanted to continue our relationship. We married about 17 months after we first met face to face. Apparently getting married is "complicated" but it is for everyone! ..... And getting a work visa is more complicated, if marriage is an option, it is invariably the easiest option no matter how complicated it appears. The only deal breaker issue is whether you are both free to marry due to prior marriages or close blood relationships.

DanDanDan

Thanks Pulaski. I'm not saying its not an option but we're looking at other routes before we decide to go for it. From what I've gathered, the way the H1B is issued, it'll be at least another year before I'm granted one (or I should say if) so that may be our best option. Again though, without going in to or boring everyone with the details, its complicated and this is why we're looking at other options.

Very frustrating though as the UK has the option of registering as "domestic partners" but the US isnt that fair.

Plan for now is to keep looking at jobs and hopefully be considered for the TN although not sure if thats easier or quicker than the H1B.

Until we tie the knot - can you or anyone recommend recruiters/job sites?

Thanks for your reply.

rpjs

ICBW but I believe that the UK domestic partner concession is only available where marriage is not legally possible.

Returning to the main point, if you do marry and acquire LPR status through that route, the jobs market in NYC for IT is very bouyant right now.

DanDanDan

Thanks for the reply!

Maybe the case. Well, thats why I came here. Havent really had the chance to discuss with people who know about this stuff and this is already giving me good insight.

I know the IT/Tech market is pretty full on out there but that makes it all the more frustrating. I'm more than qualified and experienced, I just need to find a way to get myself under the noses of the right people.

Yorkieabroad

that'd be a bummer....turn up for your first face to face with an online date, and wonder why your sister is in the same bar. Alone.

My wife is a contractor in a very similar line, from the sounds of it, working on trading platforms for power/oil/gas. She is registered with all sorts of websites and recruiters, but invariably it is word of mouth that gets her the next contract, and that seems to be the norm in her field. Not saying that the online stuff can't work, just that it hasn't been effective for her, and she is already in place, and a USC, so no visa problems to contend with.....

Are you applying directly to end user employers? If so, have you thought about floating your résumé to the consultancy companies that are running the projects? She has had success with the likes of MRE, Sungard Data, Accenture, etc

Speedwell

I agree. Plan to get married. Some possible scenarios:

If the issue is child support/alimony from a previous marriage and it will stop when she remarries, and she needs it for now in order to maintain the household until you get a job, consider a K1 fiance visa rather than a CR1 spouse visa. That will give you time during the visa process to save money toward when the child support stops and you are looking for work. You'll be able to enter the country and live with her until you get married (which must be within 90 days after arrival). When you get married you'll be able to adjust your status and work. It's also possible to apply for a stand-alone work authorization as soon as you arrive, but I hear the processing time is about 90 days anyway on this so it may be useful to you only if it is. In fact the whole fiance visa thing may only be useful to you if your circumstances make it helpful. I just wanted to put it out there.

If she's unable to work because of a disability and is dependent on the ex's insurance (this happened in my family), or some similar insurance issue that your arrival or marriage will adversely affect, it will shortly be resolved due to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Examine how this will affect you anyway, regardless of scenario.

If it's philosophical objections to marriage itself... well, my husband and I sympathize; we at first intended to try to find a way to live together without being married, but the laws, and a failure of my job to follow through with a promised transfer, made it impossible. We weren't great fans of marriage and considered it an unnecessary complication. Well, to make a long story a bit shorter, it did become necessary. Even if we still weren't wild about the idea of marriage, it's just the cost of doing business with the government at the moment.

DanDanDan

Thanks Yorkiebroad but can you elaborate a little on that? As it stands I'm registering my resume with recruiters, searching and applying for jobs on the sites and where companies allow it, I'm uploading my resume to their sites too.
Is that what you mean?

jeffreyhy

Which one of you is already married?

Regards, JEff

Speedwell

My brother works for Accenture and he told me that they have or have had some sort of blanket authorization under which they import foreign workers to work in their call center in San Antonio. Most international companies, such as the oil&gas engineering firm I work for, have some sort of arrangement like this. I would check there first.

Yorkieabroad

My wife is currently contracting at an oil major, on an implementation of a trading platform that she has a lot of experience on. The job description could have been written with her in mind, but no amount of sending CV's to the Majors' HR dept, or posting with recruiters would have got her in. The way in was to find out which consulting company were running the project and talk to them. Forget the end user. That is how she normally works, but as it happens, this job was so closely written for her, that the consulting company came knocking on her door - always a nice position to be in when negotiating rates!

I'm not saying that the recruiters that are harvesting CV's don't provide a service somewhere, but the energy trading area (is that where you are?) is so specialized that most of them haven't a clue, and seem to bring very little to the table.

I should emphasize that this is talking of someone who is working as a contractor...I don't know how the employee side recruits as she has not gone that route as the money is significantly better (3-4x) as a contractor, albeit with additional hassle of being self employeed, and without the perks like health insurance

DanDanDan

Well, you pretty much nailed it and i'm glad theres someone who can fully understand our situation.
She's been married before (no kids) and it wasnt a great experience for her so she's a little reluctant to go through it again. i also see it as a little unnecessary. so while the option is not our first choice, it wont be completely disregarded either.
I know it sounds crazy and some of you just dont get why we wont get married but life isnt always as black and white as people think. it is what it is and I have to seek other avenues first.

jeffreyhy

We would understand why if you told us, but until now you have left us guessing.

Regards, JEff

Pulaski

Well you getting a job in New York is strictly "necessary" either. It's your choice.

Hotscot

Dan
Been there done it. As have many on this site.

Unless there's some legality preventing marriage, if you do love each other, get married. You guys can even think of it as some sort of administrative process if it helps you cope. It's not a ball and chain.

It's very, very difficult in the current climate. for someone like you to find an employer willing to hire and sponsor you. Marriage is a hundred times easier.

Again, unless there's some legal impediment, just commit if you really want to be together.

All my own opinion of course.