henrysickle

Hey there,

You probably have seen a ton of these threads, but any info and help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm 22 from England, and ever since going to New York in 2006, I fell in love with the place. To be honest, I just love America and would want to move there, and always figured it would eventually happen, but after looking into it, it appears that it's not going to be as simple as I expected. So I'm starting to lean to the fact that this dream of mine may never actually become a reality.

Anyway, some information about myself.

As I said I'm 22, and I'm currently in university studying Advertising. My aim is to get a first class degree when I graduate, though a 2:1 would be amazing anyway. If I get a first though, I'd like to do a Masters degree either right after I've graduated, or after a couple of years working.

Now, because of the career I'm aiming for which is Advertising/graphic design, New York would be a brilliant place to live. A friend of mine in university, his uncle owns an apartment in NY and has offered it out to his nephew, and any of his friends, with the idea being that, once we've graduated, we can go to his apartment for three months, and aim to get a job. I've been invited, to which I agreed, but there's no way it would be that easy, right? My friends seem to think that, once they go over, and if they find a job, then that's them sorted out, and they're in the country.

I've been looking into it, and with all the VISA's, green cards etc. it's apparent that it's extremely difficult to move to America.

So, what am wondering is, is there any hope at all of immigrating to America? I know education and qualifications etc. are regarded highly when attempting to immigrate to the States, such as Doctor's etc., but would a degree, even if it was a first class one in Advertising, and then a Masters be sufficient?

I've also started to look into simply staying out there for three months once I've graduated - that's possible, right, provided I don't overstay my welcome, as it were? I've also looked at internship's and other things, but any advice regarding my situation would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Chrisdc

I think it's a great thing to explore - but have a backup plan.

The truth is that in high-demand occupations like advertising, a masters degree is not enough to get a sponsor-worthy job. Most graduates start off as interns, pa's, associate producers etc... Not the types of gigs where companies feel the need to drop 5K sponsoring a foreigner. You are competing with thousands of US graduates, most of whom are willing to work for next-to-nothing.

By all means spend some time in NY networking and making connections. They can't but help you in the future.

Maybe get a gig as a trainee copywriter at Ogilvy in London and get transferred to NYC in a few years because you are awesome. :-)

penguinsix

Can you financially afford to do the Masters Degree here in the USA? That would be a tremendous help and opportunity. You'd get a year or so after school to work (practical work training) and during that time you could find and convince someone to sponsor you for a visa. You might also find an American spouse (the easier way). Finally, and probably most important, it would be a year of "try before buy" in the USA. You'd come to learn that not everything you saw when visiting is the same when you live here.

Bob

You're right. There was a good thread with the exact same question and similar experiences to you posted a couple of days ago and one a few days before.

Basically think 5-10 year plan.

Get a masters in the US if you have the money and fancy it as a quicker way in for the short term.

Look at doing a exchange year in the US, or a internship soon after you graduate and also look at BUNAC and Camp America programs for the summer holidays.

Your best bet would be working for a company that has a US presence and wrangle a company transfer to the US, there are plenty of small companies worth looking into as well, but still a long term plan.

What is it exactly that draws you to the US anyway though?

davidtheprof

there are a thousand versions of this joke - not saying it's hell, but it's not exactly heaven either!

A very sick person is granted the opportunity for a preview of heaven and hell.

He goes down to hell and finds himself in the middle of the biggest party he has ever seen. People are dancing and drinking and doing the limbo (and nobody's doing the Macarena!). Everyone is laughing and having a great time.

Next St. Peter takes him up to heaven to look around. Everything is white and pristine. People are speaking softly about philosophy and mathematical formulas. He's bored in about five minutes.

The person recovers from sickness, but dies a couple of years later. When he meets St. Peter, he says "Heaven is very nice and all, but hell looks great, so I've decided that I want to go to hell". So St. Peter puts him on the escalator down to hell.

When he gets there he sees Satan whipping people and there's fire everywhere and everyone is screaming in pain. So he goes over to Satan and says "Hey, WTF? Last time I was here to check the place out and everyone had me partying and it looked like a great time. What happened?"

Satan replies "Back then you were a tourist - now you're a new immigrant!"

E3only

Sally Redux

excellent.

RICH

This one?

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/ame...ve-states.html

Derrygal

And very true - it may not be hell here, but it's certainly not heaven either - far from it!!! Spending vacation time here is very different to living here.

RICH

All set.

tonrob

FIFY.

SultanOfSwing

Brilliant!

Brat1

Brilliant!!

henrysickle

Hey, thanks for the replies everyone.

At the moment, there's no way I could afford to pay to do a Masters in the USA, but I like the idea, and once I've been working a couple of years, together with my savings, then I feel that that could be a possibility. An American spouse isn't... at the moment exactly viable. I've got a girlfriend, who I've been with for 4 months. Though at the moment I don't know where it's going, as in for the long term. It's still only very early. I like the idea of trying America out before I attempt doing anything permanently, though, like for three months or something. Maybe once I've graduated? That way I'd get a feel for it, and know for definite if it's something I want to do.

Yeah I've looked into them. I think, at the moment, am leaning towards to the idea of having an extended holiday out there, to get a feel for the country. This will give me a better idea than just basing it solely on a week I spent out there six years ago.

If I were to attempt to do it through work, then I get this feeling I'd have to venture down south to London to where the major companies are. This might set me back a bit though, money wise, as I currently live up North and I know that London is very expensive. Manchester, for now at least, might be an option.

What draws me? Well, apart from my week stint in NY a few years back, my reason for wanting to move there is to basically attempt to better myself. Dunno if my reasoning will make much sense, but I was diagnosed with OCD when I was 16, but have had it since I was 11. Due to it, I started going out of the house less and less, and I messed up the last two years of school/college/sixth form. I then essentially became a recluse for two years, and it messed up my life for a bit. I then started treatment, and due to other things, I gradually started to become more myself. I then started university at 19, but chose a degree I hated. Did it for two years to try and just get through it, but it didn't exactly happen. I also had a slight OCD relapse. It's now under control. I then switched to my current degree as, during the years were I didn't leave the house I taught myself graphic design, and developed a love for it. I realised that it was something I wanted to pursue, and hopefully have a career in. And since New York is known for having well established advertising agencies, it made sense for me to want to attempt to work in New York. Again, I'm not saying it will happen at all, and these might not be valid reasons for me to want to move over, but I kind of want to have something good to aim for, especially since I messed up like, five years of my life.

I feel like I've just been to counselling with that story, ha.

So anyway, you reckon it's worth me staying out in America for a couple of months just to see what it's like before I attempt to try and pursue it any further?

Thanks for all the help by the way, I do appreciate it.

SultanOfSwing

By all means spend a few months here but even that isn't going to prepare you for what it is actually like to live here because you won't be working, trying to deal with finding health insurance, pay the bills et cetera.

It's a vastly different experience.