tjobbe

Hi everyone ;o)

I've just been offered a job by a London based company who have offices in New York - Manhattan to be precise.

I've never been to America,but I do have some family there and I've always wanted to go, so this is a really exciting proposition for me!

The idea is that I work in London for a month or two, and once I know how my company does things they'd send me to America, pay for my flights and somewhere for me to live for a month.

What kind of take home salary can I expect based on $44k per year?

Thanks in advance!

GeoffM

What visa would they be sending you on? On L1 I believe you have to work for them for a year first.

For Manhattan... ouch.

tjobbe

I don't think I'd live in Manhattan, I'd be happy to have a bit of a commute to and from work. Where would be accessible from about an hour on the train?

As for Visa - I have no idea - I'll find out on Tuesday but I haven't yet found a positive on this, they must know something I don't.

GeoffM

Problem is everybody else thinks the same so the costs of living even an hour away are never going to be cheap. Well, maybe in some places, but not necessarily those you might want to live in. Anyway, $44k sounds very low no matter how you look at it. This running thread here gives some opinions as to generalisations of living costs.

You talk about "me" and "I" - does that mean it's just you, no family to move as well?

Also find out what healthcare cover they will provide. If they don't, or cover very little, then your costs will go way up.

tjobbe

Yep it's just me, a single guy ;o)

In London that salary would be seen as average for a web designer, certainly not high but "ok".

Bink

I'm slightly confused. Are they looking to relocate you to Manhattan or just send you there for a month?

Honestly, I doubt you'd get an H1B visa based on $44k a year as its hard to justify that an American couldn't do that job at that salary level.

Orangepants

I agree - when my OH was applying for his first H1B in 2005 - the prevailing wage was $80K for his position so the employer increased his salary to ensure the visa application would be successful.

Look at prevailing wage for your occupation for NYC - it will definitely be higher than that. You couldn't live on $44k no matter how frugal you are! It would be miserable.

GeoffM

Looks exceedingly low for NYC:
http://www.indeed.com/salary/q-Web-D...-York,-NY.html

Are you sure it's $44k and not £44k (about $70k - still not great)?

Bob

If you've been with the company for a year, they could do a L1 transfer. If it's a new job and they're talking a H1B...well it's just not going to happen unless it's academic based.

They can't apply for a H1 till April for a October start...not to mention the salary is shit so you'd really struggle to enjoy doing anything on that apart from just going to work and back home, spending most of the money on existing and commuting costs.

Noorah101

So you have not been working for the London branch of the business at all yet? In that case, they can't do an intercompany transfer for you. Is the US branch thinking of doing an H1B for you?

This isn't going to work out as a company transfer (L visa). Is the US branch going to do an H1B?

Are you only going to stay a month in NYC? Or you just mean the company will cover your first month of living there?

Your first question, when you talk to this employer again, should be: "What visa will you be arranging for me?"

Rene

pmcusack

Hi

Looks to me like the only option would be to do an inter-company transfer. The visa required for this is an L1 but you have to work for the UK company for a year before you can apply. There are two types of L1 visa, the L1-B and the L1-A. The L1-B is a specialist knowledge visa and the L1-A is an executive transfer visa. The L1-A is the better of the two as this has similar criteria as the EB-1 green card and you can adjust your status from L1-A to green card. In fact this is how I got my green card. I have to tell you though that I agree with everyone and $44k a year seems pretty low for a city like NY where things are more expensive.

SanDiegogirl

You need visa. You can't get an L1 as you have not been working for them for a year, so you are looking at the company getting you an H1B.

This they can't apply for until April and you can't move out until October earliest. So sounds as though this company has no experience of sending people to the US.

A salary of 44K dollars is VERY low for New York.

ian-mstm

I agree!


You can adjust from L-1B to a green card also... it's just not as easy.

Ian

Bob

It's relatively easy, just not nearly as quick.

rpjs

$44k for a web dev in Manhattan is, frankly, taking the p*ss. Double that and then some and you'd be realistic. I would strongly doubt the bona fides of any company that was offering a salary so far below the market rate.