J-Visa for the USA!

GDogg

Hi, everyone, I'v reading this thread, its extremely helpful. I have a few queries that i'm hoping somebody can help me with:

For the past few months I've been trying to organise a job in New York, I have some friends working there and they've been giving me good tips / contacts to try and organise employment. My friends are on J1's.

I only decided to go at the beginning of October, unfortunately I graduated from college on the 31st October 2008, this ruled out the possibility of getting a J1. I have been concentrating on the trainee / PCT visa which in these recessionary times closes a lot of doors as ye are aware because of having to secure a position in your related field from this side of the water. (completing the DS-7002 from Ireland instead of in the US)

My Question is: Is there any other possible way of getting a working visa for New York? (e.g any way of getting over then trying to get work)

I have a BSc in Quantity Surveying (estimating) and I must say I am getting some positive feedback and I have 2 very strong possibilities but I'm afraid when we get down to the details the possible employers might run a mile.

Also does anyone have any contacts (relations, former work mates) in New York for any companies who might be interested in taking on a Junior / Intern estimator.

Any other tips / advice would be greatly appreciated......

Wuggectumondo

GDogg, I'm in the same situation as you! I wish I knew a way!!

goldjogger

Hi everyone,

First off brill tread loads of info on here.

After finishing up college last year I was lucky to get work but then got let go, for the last 6 months I have put alot of work into applyin for jobs, attendin interviews etc so I have given up and I'm contemplating on going to america on the intern visa for 12 months, I meet the eligibility requirements etc. What I am wondering is has anyone gone with sayit or usit, any help on who to go with would be great, I have also heard of cara international??? All 3 companies give pretty much the same deal but I have no experience of which is better.

any tips on application etc would be great.

Cheers

Claasman

Hi, I am hoping to use this visa to work in the states next year.
Great thread by the way, i just have some quick questions I hope ye can answer. I'm not applying for this visa by the traditional methods(USIT, SAYIT, etc) so its a bit more difficult to get answers.

Can you only apply for this visa only once?
Say i get an Intern contract for 8 months, can I travel around doing tourist stuff for the other 4 months i have left on the J visa?

Thanks

daviddob

Hi, great thread.

I want to ask if there are any law graduates out there who have successfully found an internship in the states under the Intern work programme?

I hope to travel to Boston in April, without sorting a job first. I kind of have a few connections there but nothing concrete, so i am naturally a but worried!

also, i'm hearing a lot of bad things about usit/sayit. are they really that much more expensive? how much more can they charge you for flights? call me old fashioned, but there is something reassuring about going to your local sayit/usit office to talk to someone in person if you have a problem!

I really appreciate any replies

Harpy

hey im hoping to do the same.. heading to boston in may for the year all going to plan...
just wondering has anyone on here been succesful with this visa and how strict are they on the related to your degree side of things?

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Wuggectumondo

Scien wrote: »

This programme has been extended to part-time students now also. :rolleyes:

Seems like a half assed atempt to make this programme some bit successful. It's been a complete flop so far. The Irish Times report that less than 200 people took up the offer in the first year.
There was 20,000 available!!


Just start an under 30's WHV programme please! :mad:

I agree- what a joke!!

Dani Adelante

Ok, so I thought I'd give a brief summary of how things are going for me.

I arrived here (Fort Worth, Texas) at the end of September, and after about a week of staying with a friend, I managed to find an apartment. Moved in with a guy that I didn't know, but I met him and talked with him a few times before-hand, and he seemed cool, so I decided to be his roommate. He's from Bosnia, but has been studying in the DFW area for two years and his English is fine. It's also good to have another non-American for when you get tired of hanging around only Americans!

Started my job search after about a week. I didn't have much help, and in this city, without a car, you're screwed. So I mostly applied online, wrote a few letters, that sort of thing. I tried to get my contacts to ask around to see if they could help, but nothing much came of it. No one is hiring, and if they are, it's the same as home - it's about who you know.

My cousin is a lawyer in a different part of the country, and he said he was friends with a lawyer in Houston, with a firm that also has an office in Dallas. Through him, I managed to set up an interview with the HR manager of the firm in Dallas in mid-October. The interview went well, but they said that right then, they didn't have any openings.

Another month or so of unsuccessful job searching went by - I got a few replies, not many though, all saying something like "you appear very well qualified," blah blah blah, "but we're not in a position to hire right now".

I managed to get an interview in the middle of November with a Fort Worth law firm for a legal assistant position, and it went really well. They called me back for a second interview, and I was convinced that I had the job, but they decided to go with someone else.
But later that week, I got a call back from the lady who interviewed me in Dallas in October. An opening had come up, and they'd like to interview me for it.
I went into Dallas, was interviewed by four different people, and it went great - I've never had a better interview. They called me about two hours later and offered me the job. I was delighted!

So, I started on December 7th, about 9 or 10 weeks after arriving, and I'm still here and loving it. I managed to get into a huge firm - the fourth biggest in Texas and one of the biggest in the world. I can't believe my luck.
I bought a car the week after I got the job (my parents helped me out a bit with that), and since I've started working and driving, it's been great.

I would advise anyone thinking of doing this program to have a strong possibility of a job lined up before you come, or at least have some influential contacts. The visa is so restrictive, and the first two months here were some of the most stressful of my life. I dreaded getting phone calls from my parents, who seemed more stressed than I was about not working, and most conversations usually devolved into an argument. Not fun times.
I'm so glad I came and that it has worked out, but I don't know if I'd do it again, given the uncertainty and stress involved.

Hopefully I'll move closer to work in April once my lease is up in my current apartment (I currently drive an hour every morning and evening). I'm starting to make a lot more friends here since I've started working and driving and going to the gym.
And there is so much going on in Dallas. The NBA All-Star game is on here next week, there are concerts, clubs, all sorts of different events. The only thing is, I'm starting to work a lot more now (8:30am-8:30pm every day this week - normally it's 8:30am-5:00pm though) so I don't have time except at the weekends! But I fully intend on making the most of the next 8 months.
By the way, almost everyone LOVES the Irish accent. (Well, I have a Donegal one so it sounds better!) I may exaggerate it a bit when I'm trying to meet girls, which isn't the worst idea I've ever had!

Anyway, hope this helps some of you before you decide.

SonicC

just wondering how strict the j1visa is realtion to the field of work you get, like Dani adelante above was out of work for that long could you of not got work in bar or cash in the hand kinda thing so maybe usit/sayit wouldnt find out about (just to get you by) while you were looking for law realted work, do they come down hard on things like that?

An Cuinneach

Hi everyone,

This board is fantastic, have found out so much information from reading the posts.

It's a pity that things haven't worked out for some of you.

It seems pretty strict about getting a job related to your degree - mine is English/Irish so it's going to be damn near impossible.

SO, I was wondering if I can just do the summer J1 programme? I've only recently graduated (in November) and 'recent graduate' keeps popping up in the requirements for this 12 month one, however I haven't seen it anywhere in the requirements for the regular summer J1?

The summer J1 seems to only accept current 3rd level students (well, from what I can find online anyway) - does this mean I'm excluded? This is the only way I could get over to NY.

I have savings and even have a job lined up in a bar/restaurant. Any advice??

lil_lisa

SonicC wrote: »

just wondering how strict the j1visa is realtion to the field of work you get, like Dani adelante above was out of work for that long could you of not got work in bar or cash in the hand kinda thing so maybe usit/sayit wouldnt find out about (just to get you by) while you were looking for law realted work, do they come down hard on things like that?

For the summer J-1 visa, the type of work you get doesn't matter. As long as it is legal and only for the length of your visa it is accepted. I spent my first summer without a job. It was impossible to find anything! Even cash in hand jobs. I ended up babysitting for a few days for a friend but that was it.

lil_lisa

An Cuinneach wrote: »

The summer J1 seems to only accept current 3rd level students (well, from what I can find online anyway) - does this mean I'm excluded? This is the only way I could get over to NY.
I have savings and even have a job lined up in a bar/restaurant. Any advice??

Wow, there's no way you can't take that. I finished college last May, took a summer J-1 from June to October, graduated in November and have been on he 1 year J visa since. The only thing they ask from you is proof of return. So if you know anyone who works or owns a company just ask them to write a letter stating that they are offering you a job for when you return. You don't actually have to have it, just the official letter on headed paper.

Don't let this opportunity pass if you already have a job! Good luck.

peyter1803

An Cuinneach wrote: »

Hi everyone,

This board is fantastic, have found out so much information from reading the posts.

It's a pity that things haven't worked out for some of you.

It seems pretty strict about getting a job related to your degree - mine is English/Irish so it's going to be damn near impossible.

SO, I was wondering if I can just do the summer J1 programme? I've only recently graduated (in November) and 'recent graduate' keeps popping up in the requirements for this 12 month one, however I haven't seen it anywhere in the requirements for the regular summer J1?

The summer J1 seems to only accept current 3rd level students (well, from what I can find online anyway) - does this mean I'm excluded? This is the only way I could get over to NY.

I have savings and even have a job lined up in a bar/restaurant. Any advice??

As far as i know you have to be inbetween college years to qualify for the J1, im in college at the moment and looked into doing it 2 years ago but i was finishing my course that year and couldnt get 1, i went back to college this year for a 1 year add on course though. Saying that though a couple of people i know have got a J1 for the coming summer and 1 of them is finished college this year. I think as long as you get the college to stamp it or say your are a student and planning to continue (even if your not) you should get away with it.

lil_lisa

Well the college won't stamp saying your continuing if you're not. They require proof of return, ie a job offer to know that you are returning. There's no problem taking the visa when you've finished college but it must be the summer after and no later.

SolarCharge

As far as I know you can still get a J1... Your best bet is to ring USIT, Go4Less and Sayit to get more info. You won't be able to work in a bar with an English and Irish degree on the 12 month visa.

Johnnytwoshoes

Just wondering here, say for example the US immigration refuse to give you a visa for whatever reason. Is it possible to get a full refund from USIT? Its been asked earlier in this thread but nobody has a for definite answer?

SonicC

just wondering..............
im going on 12month j1 from sep- sep, what i was thinking of doing when the 12months was up was going down to travel south america for 2-3 months, is this possible or do you have to come back to ireland when the visa is up ?

lil_lisa

You have 30 days to travel around the US however you could get a travel visa for South America and head down. I'm not sure of the constraints on the year visa but usually they require you to return to Ireland once you have completed your visa! Double check with your visa company.

lil_lisa

Oh and on the refund thing, I'm pretty sure you won't get a full refund. I think they actually get you to sign something stating that if something happens to your visa application and you are refused one then the visa company do not take any responsibility. Which makes sense. But if you've booked flights I'm sure they'll refund that!

MEJ

Is it possible to get this visa straight through the embassy rather than having to go through an agent like usit?
#id rather do everything myself, especially cause the agents book your flights for you and you usually have to go with a specific airline and non-direct. also they charge, and i need to save!

lil_lisa

AFAIK, no! all the American sponsors that are successful will only take you through sayit, usit, go4less or iicenter. If you do find one please be sure to pass it on.

Lenno87

3 of us are planning to head to miami for a year, 2 of us will have just finished collage so we will be getting J1's. But the 3rd lad hasn't been in collage, what are his options to get into America for the year?

lil_lisa

Unfortunately if he's not in college there are very limited options for him. He can go over on for travel for three months on the visa waiver program but he will not be able to work. He can apply for the H-2B visa which is a temporary work visa but he requires a company to sponsor him to send him over and that's more complicated. Here's some info on that one: http://faq.visapro.com/H2B-Visa-FAQ.asp

longhalloween

I finished university in December 09 but I havent graduated yet (repeated a semester in UCD) Since I don't actually graduate until summer is it possible for me to get the J1?

I'm thinkin of heading up to the college tomorrow and asking for a form stating that I'm still a student here but I dont know how its gonna work out.

I have a job and accommodation lined up in Boston so a visa is the last hurdle to cross. The year long visa seems too expensive. Are there any cheaper options if I cant get a J!??

lil_lisa

You can go within one year of graduating. Either the summer visa or the year long visa. you will have to prove though that you have some reason to come back to Ireland, i.e a job lined up or something.

longhalloween

lil_lisa wrote: »

You can go within one year of graduating. Either the summer visa or the year long visa. you will have to prove though that you have some reason to come back to Ireland, i.e a job lined up or something.

Is that covered under the J1? I havent seen that condition on Usit o Go4less, only that you can apply in your final year.

I have seen a 12 month visa to america but I can only work in a field relevant to my degree and its about 2 grand to apply before flights.:(

Johnnytwoshoes

I have seen a 12 month visa to america but I can only work in a field relevant to my degree and its about 2 grand to apply before flights.:(


Just curious where did you see that it cost 2000?
According to the usit website it costs in the region of 1300euro before flights.

http://www.usit.ie/travel/12_month_usa_work_programme.html

longhalloween

Johnnytwoshoes wrote: »

I have seen a 12 month visa to america but I can only work in a field relevant to my degree and its about 2 grand to apply before flights.:(


Just curious where did you see that it cost 2000?
According to the usit website it costs in the region of 1300euro before flights.

http://www.usit.ie/travel/12_month_usa_work_programme.html

Sorry, I meant 2 grand after flights, while a J1 is half that.

lil_lisa

Well a J-1 is only for the summer. Insurance is the biggest factor, it raises your costs a lot. There are three one year visas (some even longer) but 2/3 require you to have work sorted before you leave in your field and the 3rd one, the new one, requires you to get a job within the first thirty days of arriving.

I apologise, the one year visa is allowed up to one year from graduating and the J-1 is allowed in the summer after your final year.