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Moving to America
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19-01-2018 3:33am#1
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It's my intention to become a citizen. Migrate legally, get a job and contribute to American society, and become a citizen after whatever amount of time. Not coming back here.
Have you applied for the Green Card Lottery ? That would be your best bet and it costs nothing to enter, if you do get it (It's about a 1 in 20 chance) it costs around 1400 euros for the medical and other costs (if you are successful and want to apply)
Many people apply every year and never end up getting it.
If you get a H-1B you are at the mercy of your employer, if you quit or are fired you have 60 days to find a new job where the employer is willing to re-apply for you:
https://www.quora.com/How-many-days-can-an-H1B-worker-stay-in-the-US-if-he-is-fired-Does-he-need-to-go-back-to-India-or-can-he-look-for-another-job-here-under-the-B1-visa
If you are a student you could go for a J1 to try things out.
I've heard from co-workers that went on H-1B that they employer holds this over their head for weekend, holiday work and pay. (e.g. Would be a shame if you had a problem with your visa, I guess you can come in over Christmas ?)
Moving to the US will be expensive, you'll need flights obviously but also money for a deposit + rent.
You'll pretty much be guaranteed to need a car so you'll need money for that too.
Health Insurance you should get sorted as soon as possible, it's a massive risk and some colleagues/friends have either had crippling debt from a small accident (e.g. broken leg) whereby it took them 10 years (after length negotiation to reduce the debt with the hospital) to pay it off or they simply skipped the country and went back to Europe.
Another hurdle for renting is new migrants to the US won't have a credit history, this will severely restrict your ability to rent (it's linked with your Social Security Number) so that would be another thing to get on straight away.
If you really want to go then I'd say get some money behind you, do your research.
US isn't for me personally, too cut throat and the public transport is brutal.
Each to their own though
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Here are a couple of articles on the not-so-green grass that you might like to consider (unless you're Norwegian!
):
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/10/america-punish-poor-debtors-drivers-license-suspension
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/01/25/why-it-costs-so-much-to-be-poor-in-america/?utm_term=.08673c1bc95a
Declaration of interest: I've been doing some in-depth research on the States in advance of an extended trip there later in the year. The more I read, the more I'm excited to see if it's really as primitive a society as the non-tourist brochures suggest. The most recent shocker, set against the backdrop of Ireland's upcoming referendum, was the death rate for mothers in childbirth ... :eek:0 -
I've heard from co-workers that went on H-1B that they employer holds this over their head for weekend, holiday work and pay. (e.g. Would be a shame if you had a problem with your visa, I guess you can come in over Christmas ?)
Like anywhere in the world, if you work for a**holes, you'll get treated like one. If you work for a reputable company, they will treat you just fine. And if your co-workers were to mention this to the USCIS on their relinquishing of the visa, they would absolutely follow up and reprimand the employer. It's something they're cracking down on a lot now.
The real issue with the H1-B as a worker is that you're essentially stuck in the job during certain stages of the visa. For example, if you have an approved I-140 and need to wait an amount of time (can be up to 12 years depending where you're from) for the green card, you cannot move jobs without resetting the I-140 and starting again. Not much of a problem if you're Irish, because the wait times are low, but folks from India can wait for a decade before their case is heard.Moving to the US will be expensive, you'll need flights obviously but also money for a deposit + rent.
Again, if you're working for a reputable company who require your expertise, they will cover all of this. If you're working for a company who are abusing the H1-B system, then as above, you should expect underhand behavior. H1-B isn't for regular people who want to live in America. It's for highly skilled individuals who can offer expertise US companies need and cannot source locally.Another hurdle for renting is new migrants to the US won't have a credit history, this will severely restrict your ability to rent (it's linked with your Social Security Number) so that would be another thing to get on straight away.
This is a myth. As an immigrant, I had landlords / companies falling over themselves to have me rent their property a week after I got off the plane. Granted, they will usually ask for a larger deposit, but you would do the same if the roles were reversed.US isn't for me personally, too cut throat and the public transport is brutal.
Each to their own though
My experience is don't believe everything you read. I work for one of the industries often described as cut throat and I have never seen anything untoward going on, or felt like I'm on the cutting block. Sure, you have to work hard, but I have a comfortable work / life balance, work on interesting things and get paid relatively well.
The public transport thing always makes me laugh. Like Dunboyne or Athlone has an amazing light rail / bullet train / buses every 2 minutes or something. Public transport is exactly the same almost everywhere in the world - big cities have it, suburbs kind of have it, and everywhere else is patchy.0 -
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The public transport thing always makes me laugh. Like Dunboyne or Athlone has an amazing light rail / bullet train / buses every 2 minutes or something. Public transport is exactly the same almost everywhere in the world - big cities have it, suburbs kind of have it, and everywhere else is patchy.
I'm talking about the big cities.
Miami takes around 1 1/2 half hours to travel 4 kilometers using the bus network
Most of Florida its non existant, you can't even walk in many places as there is no sidewalk.
Manhattan is ok
I'm talking about the big cities, bus service is completely rubbish.
Compared to Germany it's in the stone age, you need a car end of unless walking distance to work, even cycling is dangerous in many places.0 -
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Have you applied for the Green Card Lottery ? That would be your best bet and it costs nothing to enter, if you do get it (It's about a 1 in 20 chance) it costs around 1400 euros for the medical and other costs (if you are successful and want to apply)
Many people apply every year and never end up getting it.
If you get a H-1B you are at the mercy of your employer, if you quit or are fired you have 60 days to find a new job where the employer is willing to re-apply for you:
https://www.quora.com/How-many-days-can-an-H1B-worker-stay-in-the-US-if-he-is-fired-Does-he-need-to-go-back-to-India-or-can-he-look-for-another-job-here-under-the-B1-visa
If you are a student you could go for a J1 to try things out.
I've heard from co-workers that went on H-1B that they employer holds this over their head for weekend, holiday work and pay. (e.g. Would be a shame if you had a problem with your visa, I guess you can come in over Christmas ?)
Moving to the US will be expensive, you'll need flights obviously but also money for a deposit + rent.
You'll pretty much be guaranteed to need a car so you'll need money for that too.
Health Insurance you should get sorted as soon as possible, it's a massive risk and some colleagues/friends have either had crippling debt from a small accident (e.g. broken leg) whereby it took them 10 years (after length negotiation to reduce the debt with the hospital) to pay it off or they simply skipped the country and went back to Europe.
Another hurdle for renting is new migrants to the US won't have a credit history, this will severely restrict your ability to rent (it's linked with your Social Security Number) so that would be another thing to get on straight away.
If you really want to go then I'd say get some money behind you, do your research.
US isn't for me personally, too cut throat and the public transport is brutal.
Each to their own though
I don't think the green card lottery will be lasting much longer, Trump wants to end it 😂 I'm fully intending to do my research, as I need to decide what state to live in, what I'm looking for out of it, that kinda thing0 -
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