What do I need to do to work in the US??

muboop1

Hi guys,

I have a pretty good degree, and am currently doing a Masters in Business.

I'm looking to move to US next year, not overly picky, but would like to be in one of the cities.

What would I need to do to get a working Visa?

I've googled this to no end, and am just struggling to work out what exactly is needed due to conflicting information. I only want a year or two over there.

Have Irish Passport and 5 year visa to Australia(only like 2 months in), oh and I had a J1 visa to states but thats expired.

I was looking up H1-B visa I think its called?

What is required for eligibility, (again conflicting things read on net).
I was also curious if say I got a year visa to states, but found permanent employment(no plan to do this, but if the opportunity arose...) would their be implications of switching to a sponsored visa?

n900guy

Not sure why you'd find conflicting information, they are pretty clear on what you need to work in the US:

Unrestricted/unlimited working rights:
1) US Passport
2) Permanent residency ("Green card")

Restricted/time-based/employment-based:
1) H1B
2) J1
3) Any other visa allowing you to work that isn't US Passport or Green card

For all of the second group, you need sponsorship (that could be a company for employment, an education service, the army, whoever - but some variation of an institution is sponsoring it somehwere). For a H1B, you need to find a company that will sponsor you a H1B visa in advance. Each visa type has numerous restrictions. For example, if on a J visa, you cannot change to a H1B (or any other visa for that matter) while the J visa is still active AFAIK. Each visa type has specific terms and conditions. H1B is only valid for the employer that sponsors it - you can't chop and change jobs if one doesn't work out for example.

If you don't have US Passport or Green card then you need to read up the terms of each visa type that allows you to work in the US and find one that is most suitable based on what you want.

silja

H1b is your best bet once you completed your Master. Getting that visa is easy, but the problem is you need to find a company to sponsor you, and they need to prove they couldn't find an American for the job- difficult in today's economy. Once you get over on that visa and work a few years, the company can sponsor you for a greencard.

Another option may be an L visa- this is where you work for an international company abroad first (such as Google or HP in Ireland), then get transfered over with the company.

lil_lisa

Well because you're currently doing a Masters, you are eligible for a one year J-1 visa (assuming you are an Irish citizen). You don't have to have work lined up before you go (although obviously it would be nice). It is a little bit pricey but well worth it. You can get it from USIT, go4less and a few others.

n900guy wrote: »

For example, if on a J visa, you cannot change to a H1B (or any other visa for that matter) while the J visa is still active AFAIK.

You actually can transfer from a J-1 to a H1B visa (assuming you have a sponsoring company and all of that and the two year home rule doesn't apply). You can read more info here - that's an official document from www.uscis.gov.

Overheal

I wouldn't recommend going before you had work lined up. You could spend weeks or months looking for work while you burn through cost of living expenses and the amount of time allotted to any visa you earn.

Whoever you are doing your masters through, they should be able to help you look for something. The third level institution accepts foreign students doesn't it? So they must have some ties to the opposite.

redddbop

I'm really interested in going down the H1B, J1 visa route. I am a primary school teacher and was wondering how hard it would be to get a school to sponsor you seeing as they have to prove they couldn't get an american first?
Has anyone out there recieved a H1B visa for teaching or tried to?
Also what type of course would you have to do in order to qualify for the J1 visa? The sites say level 6 courses - is this post graduate courses, masters etc.
Thanks in advance for replies..

silja

You are not going to get a H1B for "normal" primary school teaching, you'd need to be specialised (special ed, language therapy or similar).

Afaik, both Masters and other post-grads qualify you for a J1 as long as they are full-time courses.