Working in America - basic advice

Oriel

Hi Folks,
I'm tempted to pack everything in here and head off to try to find work in America for a couple of years. I work in software testing, so I'm sure there'd be some jobs out there in America.

Could somebody give me a basic lowdown on whats involved please?
I know I'd have to apply for a work visa - but how long do those take and how long are they valid for? I'd prefer to try to get a job organised over here before heading over, but I know that's going to be pretty hard to do.

How easy is it to just shift countries?

Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm also trying to find out how much an average QA tester would be paid in America too...

There's no rush really, it could be this year, more likely next year.

Cheers,
S.

Rollo Tamasi

sinecurea wrote:

How easy is it to just shift countries?

not difficult at all. Speaking from my own expierence, J1 Chicago 2001 for 4 months, there is no langauge barrier that you need to overcome unless you want to talk to Mexicans, cultures are fairly similar imo, kids are a bit thick and plastic though but it denpends on where you have lived in Ireland and where are you going to live in America. The money is like monopoly money, you will throw it around like it was the fashion. Food in the supermarkets are wayyyy overpriced. I'm talking 8 dollars for cheese and 4 dollars for 3 apples here. Eating out is nearly cheaper than doing a weekly shop. Beer in the off licences is dirt cheap. 24 bottles of Miller worked out cheaper than getting 12 bottles of water for me!

I don't know much about the immigration side of things. Have you asked on the boards.us forum?

Oriel

Haven't thought about boards.us actually. Can you get a longer visa? If I was looking to get a job, I'd need more time than that. I'm not just talking about a summer tihng here more like a couple of years hopefully.

What's the rate of tax like over there actually?
Thanks for the info!

Cheers,
S.

Oriel

I'll post the message there too, but I think the same people use both sites.

Rollo Tamasi

The rate of tax varies a lot. I can't recall too well tbh as i was buying a lot of miller at the time

You get taxed on everything you buy. If you see a pair of jeans for $70 you will get charged $92.34 or whatever at the checkout as tax is added to all items at point of sale.

Tax on pay....i can't really remember. I wouldn't be the best to ask as my tax would have being messed up as i was on a J1 and i had two jobs at the time.

I know you can get a year long visa to Canada without too much harm but i wouldn't be too in the know about applying for permenant residency in the states. What part of the country are you looking at to live?

trillianv

You cannot apply for a job visa unless you go through the J1 process or you can get a Green Card. Green Cards are more difficult to get though. The only other way is to get a company to sponsor your work visa. You may consider entering the Green Card lottery where they set aside a specific amount of them available every year. I wouldn't suggest marrying someone for a Green Card though, as you are usually found out.

In relation to tax, you are taxed on your wage bracket. Go to www.irs.gov for more info. You have to do an annual tax return in April (where you declare all your income and what was taken for tax. If you were under taxed you will owe..over and they pay you.) Sales tax varies from location to location. California sales tax ranges from 7%-8% (well that was 3 years ago) and Oregon doesn't have sales tax. The tax is not nearly as high as here though on products. Figure the most you would pay is 9%-10% and that is very high.

As for it being easy to just pack up and go....it isn't. I am American living here in Ireland for the last 3 years. I came over on a work visa to be with my fiance and we were married soon after. I have only been home twice since I moved over as once you are working and living in another country it becomes difficult to just go home for a visit. And if you have any debts here in Ireland, sending money back for payments is very difficult. Not to mention food differences, culture shock and home sickness. I would go over just for a few months to start with to give yourself the time to figure out if this is what you want on a more permanent basis. Good Luck!

Keedowah

It is pretty difficult to get a visa for the states. I think there are two ways you can try:

1) you can go in for the green card lottery. -> its a lottery!
2) you can try and find a job and ask the company to sponsor you. This is diffiult because the company has to prove that they cant get an American to fill the post first. It helps if you have a masters or a phd.

Alternative) Marry an American - or pay an American to marry you. For research i'd recomend a Gerard Depardu film....

trillianv

Keedowah wrote:

Alternative) Marry an American - or pay an American to marry you. For research i'd recomend a Gerard Depardu film....

And if you saw the movie to the end...you'd have seen how well that one worked out for him

randomname

Keedowah wrote:

Alternative) Marry an American - or pay an American to marry you. For research i'd recomend a Gerard Depardu film....

LMAO

masterK

trillianv wrote:

And if you saw the movie to the end...you'd have seen how well that one worked out for him

I doubt many people did see it to the end.:D

Tom Dunne

Keedowah wrote:

2) you can try and find a job and ask the company to sponsor you. This is diffiult because the company has to prove that they cant get an American to fill the post first. It helps if you have a masters or a phd.

As the other posters have been saying, it is extremely difficult to get a working visa. If you have highly specialised skills, that cannot be got in America, then you may have a chance. Even a PhD may not be enough (think how many people in the US have PhDs compared to here).

Having said that, if you can get sorted it is an incredible experience. I worked in the US for a while (Irish subsidiary sponsored me) and it was great. It is quite easy to move, especially since we are so familiar with US culture and customs (can't say the same for a US citizen moving here).

I would move back there in the morning if I got a chance.

Rollo Tamasi

trillianv wrote:

As for it being easy to just pack up and go....it isn't. I am American living here in Ireland for the last 3 years. I came over on a work visa to be with my fiance and we were married soon after. I have only been home twice since I moved over as once you are working and living in another country it becomes difficult to just go home for a visit. And if you have any debts here in Ireland, sending money back for payments is very difficult. Not to mention food differences, culture shock and home sickness. I would go over just for a few months to start with to give yourself the time to figure out if this is what you want on a more permanent basis. Good Luck!

that's true actually, i suppose i had a comfort zone since i went over with mates, lived with them and i knew i would be home by September. My main goal was to drink, tan and sleep around the place so i wasn't in the [FONT=&quot]career [/FONT]making frame of mind.

jjbrien

I too would love to ave the oppertunity to work in the States. I have family over there so it would be good for me. I lived in Toronto Canada for a year so i am up on the culture. I work in IT where they are always looking to hire you. If your applying for jobs its best to get a US phone number so companys can contact you. A phone number is vital most wont consdier your application without one.

Y ou will aslo have to decide on where you want to live and then start applying for jobs in that area. Here is a list of the rates of taxes by state so you know what to expect. http://www.town-usa.com/statetax/statetaxlist.html Generally states with low levels of taxes have the most unemployment. If you want to live near NYC its best to settle down in Hoboken New Jersey where the rate rate is only 6% and New York is only across the river less than 15 mins train ride away.

If you want to get a phone number before you leave i suggest signing up for a voicemail and fax service at www.jconnect.com that way an employer can leave a message for you and they will email you the voice mail.

Best of luck with getting the visa let me know how you get on.

Gandhi

Have you checked out the "Green Card Info" sticky in "Region->Abroad"? I just updated it with links to older discussions on the same topic.

Have you thought about Canada at all?

They seem to have more logical procedures for getting in.

Ruu_Old

Indeed its difficult to get a working visa without being highly skilled (or a huge amount of money to invest somewhere). Even more with the amount of time its going to take to process it, pain in the backside.