Paid work abroad (States)

ScienceGirl87

I am thinking of going to America later on this year to live and work for 6 months to a year.

Does any one know any god sites out there that will are good for booking on visa programmes? such as realgap (which is not doing the H2B visa programme in 2008)

I am interested mainly in Hotel work since it is what I do now.

Thanks

mrtg0525

It's not going to be easy to do this due to the visa issues that come with working in the US. Basically, you'll have to find a company in the US to sponsor your visa, otherwise you won't get a work permit. Unless your skills are highly in demand and there's a proven shortage of them, it's going to be difficult (read: expensive).

For more info, have a look on the forums of britishexpats.com.

M4RKM

i dream of the same, but short of marrying someone who is american, i'm stuck in the UK...

i'm changing my plan now, and considering canada!!!

mrtg0525

It's not that simple if you're married to a US citizen either (I am).

One (expensive) way if you're not hell-bent on working there would be to see if you can study there for six months or so. AFAIK student visas are relatively easy to obtain.

M4RKM

mrtg0525 wrote: »

It's not that simple if you're married to a US citizen either (I am).

isn't it something like they have to earn 25% above the poverty line that the US Gov state, and then you have a chance at getting one. It is complex, i have looked into it.

There are plenty of ways of working across there, which are entirely illegal, and you could easily get deported, and never allowed back in, but we can't talk about that here..

mrtg0525

markymoo wrote: »

isn't it something like they have to earn 25% above the poverty line that the US Gov state, and then you have a chance at getting one. It is complex, i have looked into it.

Yes, and there's a bit more - it's not that difficult in the end (I hope, we haven't started the process yet) but the whole thing does take a while, too.

markymoo wrote: »

There are plenty of ways of working across there, which are entirely illegal, and you could easily get deported, and never allowed back in, but we can't talk about that here..

Not only can't and shouldn't we talk about it, but I'd say it's a really, really bad idea anyway. If you get caught and chucked out you can holiday elsewhere for at least 10 years because you won't be allowed back in, and you'll have to get a visa every time you want to go to the US afterwards. And if they have the slightest doubt that you'll definitely not violate the conditions of that visa again, they can still turn you back at the port of entry.

Another option I didn't mention was that if you are working for a US company, you can under certain circumstances transfer to their US office under one of the L1 visas if you've worked for them for a while. Maybe worth considering if you want to do some long-term planning...

stan747

i'm considering a permanent move in the next couple of years, luckily i have plenty of 'in demand' skills but it's still going to be expensive. (a friend who already lives there recons if would be around the $20,000 mark in total and takes a few years).
i tried to transfer within the company i work for but was turned down flat as i am classed as essential staff, will see if that's still the case at my next pay review

mrtg0525

That's probably when you find out that you stay essentially underpaid .

$20k, I assume this includes the moving costs?

stan747

mrtg0525 wrote: »

That's probably when you find out that you stay essentially underpaid .

$20k, I assume this includes the moving costs?

nope, just visa fees/lawyers etc. still, once you get a green card it's all worth it