VISA for the U.S

Mars Bar

Hi all,

I've just done an interview for a company and they text me asking me what my VISA situation would be. I'm currently unemployed and not a student so I guess that rules me out of a J1.

What other options are open to me?

Thanks very much for your help.

Mars Bar

iusedtoknow

frankly...you don't have many, if any at all.

There are no "self sponsoring" visas for the US.

There are some work categories, but they have to come from the employer - there is nothing you can do yourself, except marry an american or win the visa lottery

For example:
H1b - applications open in April, and you start on the visa in October. There are 65000 granted a year globally.
L1a/b - you have to have worked for the company outside of europe for at least 1 year

Mars Bar

Bollox. Hopefully the company can do something about it or work with me if my application is successful.

It's just an 8 week thing coaching soccer.

ProudDUB

The company in question has to sponsor you for the visa, pay for it, submit all the paperwork, do all the legal stuff etc etc. You can't do it yourself. It costs about $5,000- $10,000 per application. So unfortunately, unless they are willing to go to all trouble and expense for you, it is going to be a virtually impossible to take up the job, or any others that you get offered. Sorry.

Mars Bar

Well in a wild turn of events, the text was in fact from a friend whose number I had lost from my phone. The way she phrased the first 4 or 5 questions, I assumed I was conversing with the company! She worked with this company before but she was a student at the time.

So there's still a chance that they will do all of the legal stuff if they are willing to do it. They know I'm not a student so surely they wouldn't have even wasted my time if they knew this already.

Some hope is back!

iusedtoknow

Not really.

I am here on an L1 visa. Nothing is stopping me applying for another job, as far as my possible future employer is concerned. They would assume I wasn't applying unless I had the correct visa or status to apply.

However, I can't - simply because my visa is tied to my job that I currently have. If i lose it, I have to leave the country.

So your future employer is assuming that you have the right to work in the US. They aren't immigration or department of state, all they want to do is fill a position.

lonestargirl

There are other classes of J1 that don't require you to be a student (alien physician, camp counseler). I'm presuming thus is a summer camp deal? Looking around many of them seem to say that the operate via a J1. However if the company are asing you the story that doesn't seem like a good sign as they may not have realised what is entailed.

ProudDUB

Mars Bar wrote: »

Well in a wild turn of events, the text was in fact from a friend whose number I had lost from my phone. The way she phrased the first 4 or 5 questions, I assumed I was conversing with the company! She worked with this company before but she was a student at the time.

So there's still a chance that they will do all of the legal stuff if they are willing to do it. They know I'm not a student so surely they wouldn't have even wasted my time if they knew this already.

Some hope is back!

You would be surprised at how ignorant the average US person/employer is of how hard it is for a person to live and work there legally. Most of them just presume you can sort it out for yourself and, that they don't have to do anything. In most situations, that is not the case, unless you are a student.

The fact that you are not looking to move to the US for good, is in your favour. There are temporary work permits that allows people to work there for a specified period of time. Irish journalists covering the US elections, musical acts who go there to tour, actors who go there to make a movie etc etc get them all the time. I just have no idea how you go about getting them though.

Mars Bar

lonestargirl wrote: »

There are other classes of J1 that don't require you to be a student (alien physician, camp counseler). I'm presuming thus is a summer camp deal? Looking around many of them seem to say that the operate via a J1. However if the company are asing you the story that doesn't seem like a good sign as they may not have realised what is entailed.

That know what they are doing. They only employ Irish coaches for the summer and have been doing it for a long time.

As i mentioned though, it was a mistake in my part and it wasn't the company texting me.

I.'ll edit my op tomorrow!

Mars Bar

ProudDUB wrote: »

You would be surprised at how ignorant the average US person/employer is of how hard it is for a person to live and work there legally. Most of them just presume you can sort it out for yourself and, that they don't have to do anything. In most situations, that is not the case, unless you are a student.

The fact that you are not looking to move to the US for good, is in your favour. There are temporary work permits that allows people to work there for a specified period of time. Irish journalists covering the US elections, musical acts who go there to tour, actors who go there to make a movie etc etc get them all the time. I just have no idea how you go about getting them though.

The owner of the company is Irish. It provides orderl itself on its Irishness. Maybe their record of bringing dozens of coaches every year is something taken into account?
I've a wedding in Spain a week after the camps finish so I'm out of there straight away!

Mars Bar

Well the company have offered me a position! I'll just have to wait and see how the VISA thing goes. It has to be a J1 it seems. The company will email out all the information I'll need over the next few days.

Keep yer fingers crossed for me!