States - 12 month Visa experiences PLEASE!

The_Poznan

Hi Folks - I would love to hear some sucess stories from people who got to stay over in US beyond the 12months...and in particular advice on ways to get a job in your field of study? Graduating with MSc in Supply Chain Mgt in Aug & looking to move to States (destination unknown!)

Sound Out

La_Gordy

These responses are SO reassuring!

ProudDUB

Perhaps the lack of response is because there is no one on here who has actually done what the OP is asking. It is a very, very difficult thing to do.

OP, the only way to get to stay on in the US once your J-1 graduate visa has expired, is to get a job with a company who are willing to go to the considerable trouble and expense to make you legal to work in the US on a long term basis. The applicant can not do it themselves. It is up to the company involved to hire immigration attorneys, and cough upwards of $5000 to petition the US govt on behalf of their employee.

This can take a long, long time and it involves no small amount of time, hassle & paperwork for the company involved. The company often also has to prove, that no US citizen can do the job that the foreign worker is being hired to do. In a country of 250 million people, that is going to be a very, very hard thing to do, unless the work in question is very unique and highly specialized.

US companies go this kind of trouble for foreign employees all the time. But an Irish person in the US on a J-1 graduate visa is 22/23 years old, has only left college in the last year or so, and only has a years work experience in their field. There aren't going to be a lot of companies who are willing to go to all the trouble and expense for someone so young and inexperienced. Which brings me back to the possible reason why no one has replied to the thread yet.

The_Poznan

ProudDUB wrote: »

Perhaps the lack of response is because there is no one on here who has actually done what the OP is asking. It is a very, very difficult thing to do.

OP, the only way to get to stay on in the US once your J-1 graduate visa has expired, is to get a job with a company who are willing to go to the considerable trouble and expense to make you legal to work in the US on a long term basis. The applicant can not do it themselves. It is up to the company involved to hire immigration attorneys, and cough upwards of $5000 to petition the US govt on behalf of their employee.

This can take a long, long time and it involves no small amount of time, hassle & paperwork for the company involved. The company often also has to prove, that no US citizen can do the job that the foreign worker is being hired to do. In a country of 250 million people, that is going to be a very, very hard thing to do, unless the work in question is very unique and highly specialized.

US companies go this kind of trouble for foreign employees all the time. But an Irish person in the US on a J-1 graduate visa is 22/23 years old, has only left college in the last year or so, and only has a years work experience in their field. There aren't going to be a lot of companies who are willing to go to all the trouble and expense for someone so young and inexperienced. Which brings me back to the possible reason why no one has replied to the thread yet.

Your probably correct in what your saying in this case but im a glass half full man so this one opinion wouldnt put me off...I know your a realist bla bla bla :P

ProudDUB

Hey go for it. I never said it was impossible, just difficult. Best to know what you are up against, than to go into it clueless and blind, right?

If it were me, I'd target large, multi national companies in my job hunt, who have a history of hiring workers from overseas. They are more likely to have much deeper pockets and perhaps immigration attorneys on the payroll. They would be more likely to be ok with the trouble and expense involved in making a foreign worker legal, than a smaller operation might be.

Get involved now with any professional organizations affiliated with your profession/qualification. Start networking and gathering information and contacts and ties that may be of use to you in your job hunt. Then when you are in the US on your one year graduate visa, do the same from the second that you get off the plane. Hustle, hustle, hustle & work hard to sell yourself. Americans really appreciate & will reward that kind of get up and go, whereas here, you would be criticized for being pushy and a bit up yourself.

Best of luck to you !

The_Poznan

Now your talking lad Thats Exactly what I intend to do so thanks for the positive advice...Americans tend to big them selves up so I intend to do the same. I just need to fully commit on where I'm going to base myself and then the Networking kicks in etc. Have set up my linkedIN page recently and have started to network with relevant groups so that's a start!

ProudDUB wrote: »

Hey go for it. I never said it was impossible, just difficult. Best to know what you are up against, than to go into it clueless and blind, right?

If it were me, I'd target large, multi national companies in my job hunt, who have a history of hiring workers from overseas. They are more likely to have much deeper pockets and perhaps immigration attorneys on the payroll. They would be more likely to be ok with the trouble and expense involved in making a foreign worker legal, than a smaller operation might be.

Get involved now with any professional organizations affiliated with your profession/qualification. Start networking and gathering information and contacts and ties that may be of use to you in your job hunt. Then when you are in the US on your one year graduate visa, do the same from the second that you get off the plane. Hustle, hustle, hustle & work hard to sell yourself. Americans really appreciate & will reward that kind of get up and go, whereas here, you would be criticized for being pushy and a bit up yourself.

Best of luck to you !

InTheTrees

Identifying employment agencies that specialize in your area and talking to them might help. Chances are that it'll be too complex for them to handle but they may have some advice about which companies are willing to go through the process. As ProudDub said, its laborious. You'll want to find a company thats large enough to have a legal department.

There are some serious shortages of workers in the US (despite the high unemployment!) and I thought i read about an increase in J1's being issued?

lil_lisa

I don't believe there was ever a limit, was there?

I planned as well as I could. I came over in June 2010 on a summer J-1 and stayed until September. I then overlapped two 1-year visas. I started one in November 2010 (luckily my job was still waiting for me) and came home in October 2011 hoping to start another one in November 2011 (month of year from graduation). I applied, got it and was back in the US within a couple of weeks with another 1 year visa under my belt. I spent these two years looking for a job, my company was not willing to sponsor my visa. I probaby had over 200 ignored job applications and 10 interviews (3 of which hired me but then realised what was involved in the visa process and dropped out). I was finally hired in May 2012 and the H1B process was started.

It's not impossible, you just have to try your hardest, apply for everything, and try to stand out. Sorry OP, the first post was a year ago, I was probably up to my eyes with new hire paperwork

Best of luck!

spideog7

Did 2 years on the J1 same as Lisa, toward the end of the second year started applying for different jobs (both here and at home). I ended up finding a different company here who wanted to hire me and sponsor me for the H1B.

So here I am 4 years later after having no intention of staying more than a year.

The_Poznan

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for that input thats an inspiring story that fills me with even more hope. Im under no illusions that its going to be a tough process but when theirs a will there deffo is a way

You mentioned something interesting in your last post you said "try stand out" how would you do this without "lying" on your CV or something to that effect? Like lets be realistic everyone including myself 'Bigs' their achievements/skills up but by what does standing out entail...without being nosy of your exact circumstance of course

Thanks also for your input Spideog...maybe you too could shed some light on the techniques used in acquiring a sponsor. Again any help at all would be savage for us folk trying to make new paths

lil_lisa wrote: »

I don't believe there was ever a limit, was there?

I planned as well as I could. I came over in June 2010 on a summer J-1 and stayed until September. I then overlapped two 1-year visas. I started one in November 2010 (luckily my job was still waiting for me) and came home in October 2011 hoping to start another one in November 2011 (month of year from graduation). I applied, got it and was back in the US within a couple of weeks with another 1 year visa under my belt. I spent these two years looking for a job, my company was not willing to sponsor my visa. I probaby had over 200 ignored job applications and 10 interviews (3 of which hired me but then realised what was involved in the visa process and dropped out). I was finally hired in May 2012 and the H1B process was started.

It's not impossible, you just have to try your hardest, apply for everything, and try to stand out. Sorry OP, the first post was a year ago, I was probably up to my eyes with new hire paperwork

Best of luck!

lil_lisa

I'm a software engineer and was mostly looking for work in Web Development so I built an online resume to showcase some of my work and capabilities.

spideog7

I reckoned I made a hames of the interview and didn't think I'd get hired, but I pulled it off somehow. Part of it was that there was a big project coming up that I had the experience they needed for.

I work for a product development firm and they did mention that with my background being a bit different than everyone else's there (in terms of cultural, education and work experience) I'd see things from a different point of view and bring something different than the Americans to the team. I hadn't even thought of that to be honest but it might be worth trying to play that up too, depends on your area of work I guess.

InTheTrees

spideog7 wrote: »

I work for a product development firm and they did mention that with my background being a bit different than everyone else's there (in terms of cultural, education and work experience) I'd see things from a different point of view and bring something different than the Americans to the team. I hadn't even thought of that to be honest but it might be worth trying to play that up too, depends on your area of work I guess.

I've had similar experiences.

I've always attributed it to my/our "honesty" (although I think of it as realism); Americans tend to accentuate the Positive, sometimes to the detriment of progress.

La_Gordy

bump

Hi all,

For those of you working in America now, when you first went over were companies unwilling to hire you due to the nature of the year long J1 visa? As in were only big MNCs accepting this kind of visa or were ranges of companies receptive?

lil_lisa

There were a lot of companies willing to take an intern on. Many companies offer internships/contracts to get work done and not worry about hiring full time. Looking through craigslist, there's a good amount of contract jobs. i.e. 6 months to 1 year only.

The_Poznan

lil_lisa wrote: »

There were a lot of companies willing to take an intern on. Many companies offer internships/contracts to get work done and not worry about hiring full time. Looking through craigslist, there's a good amount of contract jobs. i.e. 6 months to 1 year only.

Hi are there any sites dedicated that offers graduate, entry level & co-op jobs in a variety of fields that might be worth checking out for the US? Thanks

lil_lisa

Not that I know of but both craigslist.org and monster.com allow you to filter based on experience/keywords like 'internship' etc

Joxer_S

I found a company that sponsored me for the H1-B, only to find out today that I missed out because of a randomly assigned lottery, absolutely gutted.

Edit: Point being sometimes even that isn't enough, I'm currently here on a J-1 (18 month)

The_Poznan

Joxer_S wrote: »

I found a company that sponsored me for the H1-B, only to find out today that I missed out because of a randomly assigned lottery, absolutely gutted.

Edit: Point being sometimes even that isn't enough, I'm currently here on a J-1 (18 month)

Ah lad thats terrible sorry to hear that...'randomly assigned lottery' what does this mean? im heading out end of next month job got n all so hope to get sponsored...is this something I need to look out for? Cheers

Joxer_S

Explained here

Huge demand this year and I got unlucky, the immigration bill might potentially raise the cap on the number of H1-bs, I thought it was first come first served so got a shock when I was told

spideog7

I'm not sure what happened with the H1, for a few years there they still hadn't hit the cap out into November. A few of the new immigration bills put forward are trying to put some tough restrictions on hiring H1 employees, like requiring the employer to advertise the job locally for 30 days and prove that they can't hire an equally capable or better US citizen, but on the other hand they are relieving some of the restrictions when it comes to the cap.

On the other hand if you find a good enough lawyer they can often get you on a different type of visa that you would never think you'd be qualified for, the O-visa in particular, worth a look.