# Moving and getting sponsorship



## jamesbrittle (Feb 6, 2009)

Hi everyone on this site, im a fully qualified carpenter and joiner with 8 years exp and my ambition has been to live and work in new york, i am finding this a very hard process as everywhere i seem to go is a dead end, i phoned up the american embassy for help at £1.20 a mintue and after about 10 minutes they tell me nothing, i dont really know what i need to get to be able to work in america, do i need sponsorship or do i need a work visa? whats the difference and what is the easiest to obtain? my aim is to go januray 2009 so i got 11 months to try and sort all this out, by then i should also have in the region of £5000 saved to help me along the way,

All your help would be really appreciated,

Kind Regards

James Brittle


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Welcome to the forum.

In order to get a "work visa" for the US, you need an employer to petition for you. (That's roughly the equivalent of sponsoring your application for a visa.) Without an employer's petition (or one from a close family member - parent, adult child or sibling - already living in the US with US citizenship) you can't even apply for a visa.

Most types of work visas require that you have university level training or some notable skill or experience that is unavailable in the US. At a minimum, the employer would have to prove that they have tried to fill the position with someone already able to work in the US (citizen or permanent resident). 
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Forget the call center of the embassy. Go to the site of USISC and read through visa requirements. 
The basics - 
immediate family to spponsor you on basis of family reunion
employer to apply for visa based upon unusual skills (yes Bev I have seen some come over and get sponsored for GC with basic education but years of very specialized experience in the last few years)
GC lottery if you are qualified for participation
marriage to US citizen
investment

5k are not sufficient to start out. Add deposits for rent/utilities/phone, monthly expenses, vehicle/insurance ... Shipping your tools.

Unless you are with a union you are looking at 10-25$/hour depending on your skills. You did not specify frame or finish carpenter.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

twostep said:


> (yes Bev I have seen some come over and get sponsored for GC with basic education but years of very specialized experience in the last few years)


I never said any different: Most types of work visas require that you have university level training *or some notable skill or experience that is unavailable in the US.*

Cheers,
Bev


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

There was an article in the New York Times yesterday about a community largely composed of construction workers in Florida. They are almost all unemployed, unless you consider picking through trash hunting for items you can maybe clean up and sell employment.

Construction has come to a standstill in the US. Construction techniques are different here (studs and drywall). When we do have a shortage of construction workers, we get all we want from Mexico. Carpenters here generally work as journeymen, meaning they don't have one employer, but work for whoever needs them. Work visas require that you work for one employer, and when that employer doesn't need you any more, you must leave the country.

Try Canada, or Australia, where there was a shortage of people in the trades a year ago. That may not be true anymore, but it might be worth looking at.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Synthia - carpenters work as journeymen when they are with a union. A contractor without a steady crew would not be in business very long:>)

Studs and drywall is only one of the common construction methods. It depends on location and funds.

Why are you using such stereotypes? Yes Mexicans are a large part of the unskilled labor pool. Not all. A friend just bought a 1.5 MM house in John Trent Golf heaven. He still wears boots and his jeans are too long:>) You cannot build with unskilled labor alone. Chaos 101! Craftsmen go through training, certification, re-certification the whole nine yards. And they are not cheap!

As the poster has not answered any questions it is impossible to even guess at his skills and potential employers and visa options.


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