# Help with UK - US Visa choice and options avalible



## Embed (Oct 11, 2012)

Hi,

I hope everyone's doing alright 


I posted a little while ago regarding my girlfriend getting a visa to stay in the UK, but things have changed and we are planning to live in America now!

She is American and I am Scottish (23 years old). I am about to finish my 4th year of university in Computer Networking which will give me an Honours degree BA(hons). I have 2 years of experience within the computing sector and currently work for a large UK IT company.

We intend on moving over to the states in June 2013.

What Visas will let me go over and work straight away? I've looked at an EB-3 visa, but the waiting list is 6 year!!??!!
We don't intend on getting married any time soon so a spouse/fiancée visa isn't the right path.


What options do I have?

Also, I will be in the US for Xmas this year on a tourist visa, If I want to move over in June does that mean I will have to wait until the Xmas 6month tourist visa runs out before flying over and gaining another 6 months?

I apologise for the messy nature of my post, but I'm very keen to know what i have to do!

Thanks in advance!


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Since the spouse visa is out, the only visa which allows you to move over and start work straight away is a work visa.

This has to be applied for *by a company* willing to sponsor you. Since you are only just leaving University and have only two years experience, this is going to be hard to obtain. Plenty of experienced IT workers already out of work in the US.

What 6 month tourist visa are you talking about? The VWP allows you up to 90 days in the US. A B2 visa allows you longer, but if you are eligible for the VWP you risk being refused the B2.


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## Embed (Oct 11, 2012)

Hi Crawford,

Thank you for your reply. I'm sorry I have no idea where i got 6months from, may have read something wrongly.

So I take it that obviously American citizens get first crack at the job then if none are suitable then foreigners can have a go?
What would you suggest that I do? I have just over 6months until my girlfriends visa for school runs out.

Thanks for the advice so far


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Does your IT company have offices in the US? If you are sufficiently skilled you might qualify for an L-1 visa - inter company transfer.

Other than that you need to network, get your resume out there and find a job where the company will be willing to sponsor you.

Apart from that there are J-1 exchange/student visas (restricted work opportunities) and only valid for short'ish timescales - usually not long term.

To get to the US on your own merits you need to get some good experience under your belt and have something to offer US employees.


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## Embed (Oct 11, 2012)

We have a presence in NY but not an office unfortunately.

I was planning on using one of those websites which has lists of companies that are able to sponsor foreigners and have vacancies, is this a wise decision as the service cost around $100-200. 
See link in "reason for editing" for an example of the websites that offer job finding services

Unfortunately I don't plan on anymore education!

Experience wise, I currently work for one of the biggest datacentre companies in the UK so hopefully they can give me a great reference.

Just like when we were planning my girlfriends visas to stay in the UK we have come to exactly the same realisation..Its bloody hard to get a visa, i really wish there was something that could push it in my favour of getting a visa.

Does having my dads cousin in Maine, and my half sister in Boston do anything for my chances?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Two years in Networking and just a BS is not likely to tempt a US employer. 
Please be very careful when using such fee based sites. As I posted before - a number of skillful scams have been trace back to them especially in IT.
Most LDRs end in marriage as it is generally the easiest or only option.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I'll go a step further than twostep and say that most (if not all) of those sites that sell you a list of companies that "can" sponsor a visa and have job openings are rip offs. They'll list companies like Microsoft - which has imported plenty of foreign workers in the past and does probably have job openings, but they still have to get authorization to hire a foreigner on a case by case basis, and you can get their current list of open positions off their website for free. 



> Just like when we were planning my girlfriends visas to stay in the UK we have come to exactly the same realisation..Its bloody hard to get a visa, i really wish there was something that could push it in my favour of getting a visa.
> 
> Does having my dads cousin in Maine, and my half sister in Boston do anything for my chances?


You're right - it IS bloody hard to get a visa. On the work visa side, you really need something very unique to differentiate yourself from all the other young people just out of university who are looking for jobs.

And no, neither the cousin nor the half-sister will do you any good. Has to be direct ascendent or descendent (i.e. parent or your adult children) - but even that route takes YEARS.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Embed (Oct 11, 2012)

Thanks for the replies  .

Twostep - is it law that a company must interview American citizens and employ them over foreigners? Or are they treated the same?

Bev - The site which I linked H1B Visa seems to have been endorsed by many big companies, am I just being naive and in reality they have been faked? What is the best source of companies that do offer sponsorship? 
I can see that its going to be very very hard to get a visa, but that's not going to stop me. I beleive that I can get a sponsored job, I just need to find companies that I can send my resume to.
I kind of knew that my relative wouldn't help is getting the visa...Darn!

I better get proposing!

Cheers


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Embed said:


> Thanks for the replies  .
> 
> Twostep - is it law that a company must interview American citizens and employ them over foreigners? Or are they treated the same?
> 
> ...


Who says which companies have endorsed that site:>) The site owner can satelite through a cheap board or applicants bring the trail of their own searches with them.

Read up a bit on immigration law on the employer side. USCIS.gov goes into all the details.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Embed said:


> Bev - The site which I linked H1B Visa seems to have been endorsed by many big companies, am I just being naive and in reality they have been faked? What is the best source of companies that do offer sponsorship?
> I can see that its going to be very very hard to get a visa, but that's not going to stop me. I beleive that I can get a sponsored job, I just need to find companies that I can send my resume to.


Where do you see anything on the site about big companies "endorsing" the site? I only see a page listing the usual round of "security" things: PayPal, various credit card companies and, ok, Bank of America - but most likely because they run the site's credit card services.

To find companies you can send your resume to, just go directly to the websites of big US companies and look for their lists of available positions. They aren't all necessarily open to those without US work authorization, but if you've got something worthwhile to offer, you can always send in an application and see what happens.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Embed (Oct 11, 2012)

Hi Bev,

Sorry here the link, scroll to the bottom and see all the quotes
H1B Jobs

I guess some searching is called for!

Cheers


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Embed said:


> Hi Bev,
> 
> Sorry here the link, scroll to the bottom and see all the quotes
> H1B Jobs
> ...


Monster - 2006; I did not go any further.


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