broben_hab

Hi, I am wanting to head out to San Francisco for a few months and spend a bit of time out there working.
I have friends out there it is possible to stay with, and possible odd jobs once over there. I plan to look for a more specific job working with music and technology, and do have a Bachelors degree. I also have the possibility of interviews at a couple of places with my more focused job search on the cards.

Can anyone give me some information / advice on the possibility of such an endeavour? And what type of visa is required?

penguinsix

Take a look at this list and then come back and tell us which visas you think you could qualify for and then we can give you the rundown on the process for each.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

If you can't find a visa on this list, you won't be coming to work here legally.

GeoffM

Unlikely. To do that you'd need a green card or otherwise able to work for any employer which most employment based visas do not allow you to do.

You can look for jobs, even attend interviews, but not sign an employment engagement while you're in the US - certainly is the case on VWP, maybe on B1/B2 as well.

Bob

For a couple of months?

It's not going to happen.

If you've just graduated, you might find a J1 internship, or a BUNAC/Camp America kind of thing, but they will be a bit more specific to what you'd do.

If you don't have experience, getting a proper job will also be highly unlikely to happen, considering the H1 work visa will cost the employer thousands.

You might have some luck with seasonal H2B visa, picking fruit/veg or being a ski instructor kind of thing.

Michael

There is one visa (H2-A) that does not require a specific employer to sponsor you. However I doubt that OP wants to be a seasonal migrant farm worker working 12 hours a day 7 days a week for minimum wage while on vacation.

Bob

I know a few places up in Maine that bus up a load of Mexicans to pick blueberries by hand...back breaking, horrid work doing it by hand...but it does include lodgings.

Not a great selling point for the OP though

Michael

There are plenty of migrant workers (mostly illegal) in California that move from farm to farm year around since California has a growing season year around. For example, a typical California tomato farm has about three crops picked during the year with the only time they are not picked is around the February time frame.

Anybody that says Mexicans are lazy doesn't know what they are talking about.

caleyjag

What is your degree in, and when did you get it?

I'd be surprised if odd jobs in SF will qualify for seasonal work (H2 etc).

Being realistic, your plan is not practical.

A much better solution would be to establish yourself as a music and technology expert with niche skills in the UK and then transition over on an H-1b, L-1 or even O-1. Obviously this will take a lot of time, effort and luck.

Bob

I think the reason folks up in Maine do the legit H2 is because there isn't as much seasonal work...corn is done by machines, the spuds, well way up in the north counties the schools take a potato picking break so kids can pick spuds.

There's only really blueberries, as the machines can't pick the wild, small berries, unlike the big monsters you get in the rest of the country, which is why they're so pricey...they use little wooden hand rakes and it is miserable work.

They get paid sub minimum wage with the understanding that the lodgings bring them up to minimum wage, which is cheeky.

broben_hab

Thanks for all the help.
It seems that my plan is very much a fail, as I am not wanting to pick berries for 12 hours a day.
I have only just gained my degree and was pretty much wanting to get out of England and build up some experience. So H1B is out of the question for that due to lack of experience.

Is self-employment and freelance work still possible on a visa without needing the contracts in place before going over there?

ian-mstm

Umm... that's not going to happen.


Umm... that's illegal.

Ian

avanutria

Not really, because any visa that allows you to work (except marriage related ones) requires the employer to apply for it on your behalf.

If you've just graduated, look into the J1 visa and see if it might work for you. (As mentioned above in post #4.) I don't know anything about the J1 so I don't know what the work restrictions are for it.

Bob

No. You'd still need someone to sponsor the visa and they won't for a few months.

Best bet is talk to your uni alumni office, see also if they have a international careers officer type person to introduce you to someone who might be able to do a J1 visa, if you graduated last summer, but you might be running out of time to organise it.

christmasoompa

Why not somewhere else other than the US? As a UK citizen aged 30 or under, you could get a year's Working Holiday Visa (open work permit) for Canada, NZ or Australia. All *much* easier than the US!

Good luck.

broben_hab

Thank you all again.
I shall getting looking into the J1 to see what is possible there.

Canada.. may have to look into that too. Thanks for the idea!