# Impossible to work in America- pigs can fly



## starship (Mar 17, 2013)

Hi Everyone

I'm new here and would like to ask the most obvious question of all time- I want to move to America but how do I get a job there?

Every single forum I go on to says that it is impossible, there is more chance of pigs flying to the moon ect ect. There were over 300,00 UK residents moving abroad last year, surely some of them must have been to the US? 

How did UK ex pats on here get jobs in the US? I know that it is very difficult to get work in the US but I don't believe that it is impossible, there must be some methods of successfully applying for jobs in the US and gaining a visa?

If you have recently got a job in the US please can you let me know how you searched for jobs? Did you literally apply through the Internet explaining that you are looking to relocate or did you get a transfer with your company in the UK?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please don't just post 'don't bother, no jobs here, its impossible' ,


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Pigs do fly and that rather frequently when you check H1B, L1, ... It is all a matter of qualifications. 
Looking at your experience/education you posted - where do you see something an employer in another country wants/needs/is willing to jump through hoops for? There are requirements such as education, special skills.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Getting a job in the States is certainly not impossible, it's just a lot harder than applying for jobs in your own country.

For one thing, all jobs offered to overseas applicants have to be of a criteria which is mandated by the Dept of Employment. Therefore, most vacancies which can be applied for by overseas applicants, tend to require degree levels of education, specific skills, and experience.

The prospective employer also has to pay for the filing and visa fees - not inexpensive.

So it takes a* lot more work and research* on the part of the applicant to find a job which qualifies for a visa and an employer willing to put in the effort and money to obtain such a work visa.

Most of the expat folks I know who are working here came over on L1 visas - intra company transfer. 

However I also know people of people who worked in high tech/aircraft technology/software development companies who just researched in the relevant trade magazines for suitable vacancies and applied off their own bat.

It's by no means easy, if you are overseas, to get a job in the US - but then the UK does not make if easy for foreign applicants to get decent high paid jobs in the UK either.


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## hellsbadger (Aug 26, 2010)

Most people we know are here on H1b, L1 or E2 - which means you need to have specialist skills that are in demand, work for a UK employer willing to transfer you or have a large sum of money to invest in a business. Or find a spouse with a US passport! The US is awash with workers, and even if you could find an employer willing to go to the time and trouble of applying for a visa there is no guarantee that a visa would be granted if they couldn't prove that there were no US citizens capable of doing the job. A friend working here legitimately risked losing everything when she applied for a green card as the immigration service insisted that her job be readvertised just in case there was an American who could do her job.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

the most common employment visa is the H1B ..there are 65K available every April

The regulations define a "specialty occupation" as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including but not limited to architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, biotechnology, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts, and requiring the attainment of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent as a minimum...


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