Graduate Visa USA

osullm36

delaney001 wrote: »

I understand that I need to get the visa before the exact date of my graduation. Thanks for clearing that for me.

But what I really want to know is, do I have to physically be on American soil before that same date in December. Or can I get the visa in november and then wait until, say February, and head then.

I have commitments in Ireland till end of Jan and I would really like to see them out and head to USA then, is this possible or will my Visa be invalid if i dont activate it pre december. Sorry if I'm making this sound more confusing than it is

Thanks again

I'm nearly sure you have to be in the country within 30 days of you visa date, so for example if you visa starts on 1st Dec you need to be in the country by 1st Jan? But for a technicality query that important I'd check with your visa sponsor - USIT, Goforless, IICenter etc. Just to be sure

delaney001

Ya i intend on contacting them, but I was hoping I'd somehow be able to hold off heading to US till February but doesnt seem likely now, oh well

SarahT25

Hi All,

have to say very informative thread fair play to all. I am a bit late in reading this though as I have already booked my visa with USIT. Heading out in Febraury on a graduate visa. Going it alone I think I must be mad??? Any tips on accomodation in New York? Have any of you reloctaed to NYC in the meantime?

Im thinking a room share is the best option to start with. I have a BA in Real estate and three years experience in the market here in Ireland...am so nervous I mightn't get a job in that field straight away.

Any advice on what to do if you cant get a job within the 90 days?

Are they strict about it?

Thanks guys :-D

Corrimbla

SarahT25 wrote: »

Hi All,

have to say very informative thread fair play to all. I am a bit late in reading this though as I have already booked my visa with USIT. Heading out in Febraury on a graduate visa. Going it alone I think I must be mad??? Any tips on accomodation in New York? Have any of you reloctaed to NYC in the meantime?

Im thinking a room share is the best option to start with. I have a BA in Real estate and three years experience in the market here in Ireland...am so nervous I mightn't get a job in that field straight away.

Any advice on what to do if you cant get a job within the 90 days?

Are they strict about it?

Thanks guys :-D

Hi Sarah,
I might be able to help you alot here as I went on this visa in 2010 as a property grad to Boston. First thing - going on your own, not mad at all as you will meet loads of people anyway but saying that its a huge advantage to know people over there before going i.e. friends or family cuz your going to need contacts. Secondly as you may know the property game in the states is complete opposite to the rest of the world. First thing you will need is apply for your real estate license - this entails of approx 24-40 classroom hours then a two part exam (federal & state).. don't be fooled its not as easy as you think but with a property background you should pass it with a bit of study. You need that for basic property stuff over there and it cost me around $500 between class & exams fees. Are you looking to go the commercial or resi route? Professional services & getting into the big companies such as cbre and the JLL's is next to impossible unless your connected as all the american college students fight tooth & nail to work for FREE summer and grad positions. The resi side of things isn't too hard to get into it and you can make good money. However it is extremely competitive. The good news is it can be done. I went over there on my own in the same situation as you - property grad with a couple of years experience and I ended up working for a national REIT letting luxury apartments on a 50K salary in Boston. Don't be thinking its easy and once your in the door your there for life - chances are you wont get further than the year as sponsorship is not something that is done in the RE sector over there. I know of other property grads that went over and it blew up in their face but they ended up working in banks as cashiers so wasn't too bad i suppose. I have a really good contact for the company I worked with in their NYC portfolio (they owned like 4/5 skyscrapers in Manhattan) and he has a soft spot for the irish as his dad is from co. Down, send me a PM with any other questions you may have and I will try and help + give you that contact info for that lad if you want!

Orla.B

Hi All,

I'm going through the IIIC for my graduate visa and was looking for advise on insurance. Many of the Irish insurance companies (including multitrip.ie and backpackertravelinsurance.ie) are coming in cheaper than the US ones but the policy documents don't seem to be specific enough in regards to the IIIC's requirments, ie repatriaton of remains in the sum of $7,500 and expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000. Could anyone recommend an insurer and if you used an Irish one, did it pose any problems with the IIIC or the embassy?

Thanks

prescar

Wow, I've just read the info on the thread here and thanks so much for all the input guys!

I'm currently in my final year myself and defo gonna head out next year once I've maxed out my summer J1 in October and then apply for the graduate one when I get back!

I was in USIT last week and after I spoke to yer man I was unsure whether to go with them for the graduate one...they suited me grand for my summer one gone by, however I seemed to know more on the graduate visa requirements than he did which I thought was strange?? Anyways thanks for the info on IIIC and I must look it up

SarahT25

Hi,

To be honest I used USIT, i know it might work out slightly more expensive but I just found it so hassle free. They arrange everything for you. I was told it is going up in price next year though. I booked early this year and got it for c.€2000 in total, flights and all inc in that. I think its averaging out at about €2400 now depending on how much the flights cost. Wherer are you thinking of going?

Sarah.

amymariac

I feel the same way about USIT to be honest. The girl at USIT, Lucianne, who handled my stuff was so nice and so helpful. I left 6 weeks to the day after submitting my application form and there wasn't a hitch. I really wanted to go quickly and was happy to pay the extra money. My total cost was around €2000 as well, incl. flights. I already had a US Sim card and stuff so didn't have to pay for that.
Sarah are you still in the US?

SarahT25

Hi Amy,

No I am not mooving until the 17th Feb...fear is starting to set in now! i am going it alone! Are you there now if so what part?

amymariac

Yup I've been here for three weeks now. I'm in Los Angeles. Where are you heading?

SarahT25

Im heading to New York, my boyf is just back from LA he was in Huntington said it was very hard to get work how are you finding it? Did you go alone or with friends

prescar

SarahT25 wrote: »

Hi,

To be honest I used USIT, i know it might work out slightly more expensive but I just found it so hassle free. They arrange everything for you. I was told it is going up in price next year though. I booked early this year and got it for c.€2000 in total, flights and all inc in that. I think its averaging out at about €2400 now depending on how much the flights cost. Wherer are you thinking of going?

Sarah.

I totally agree with you about the hassle free thing as I started off my J1 process last year with go4less and I had a terrible experience with them...like it was really bad and I'm not even exaggerating!! So when I went to USIT I was in total shock at how nice they were and they handled everything so well for my summer in USA gone by and no complaints about them considering how late it was to be booking!! But to be fair, last week someone I had never dealt with and he didn't know the answers to a few things.

However upon learning about the 14 month thing I am very tempted to leave USIT now and go with the likes of IIIC...I don't know what to do! I have a sister in Boston and also close family in Chicago so I'm thinking of there or even NYC but again, the 14 month thing is really appealing to me!

Are you currently there? How you getting on?

prescar

Sorry just after seeing the rest of the posts there!! May I ask what line of work you're in amymariac? How is LA?

amymariac

I came alone technically but have friends here who I moved in with so it was okay. LA is nice! The weather is still lovely. Prescar I did law for undergrad and then a masters so am now clerking at a law firm in LA. As far as the 14 months go, you can stay up to 13 I think with USIT, but no matter who you go with you can only work for 12.

prescar

Sounds good, that's nice to know you're living with people you know then. It's just with USIT making you book the return flights is the problem...I want to stay for 13/14 and not just 12 please god!

And also, do you know any good websites for jobs info or did you get lucky and pick up your work after arriving? My undergraduate is in Social Care (it's a similar profession to Social Work but not technically the same) and the man in USIT was telling me because my core modules for the last 3 years have been the like of psychology/law/social policy/governmental issues and so on, that I would be able get a job no prob...however I don't think it's as easy as that! I have heard a lot of people cannot find work/internships upon arrival. Well done and hope you're getting on good there

amymariac

You'll have to book return flights with everybody though. When you go to the embassy to get the visa you need to show that you're planning on coming home, so you'd have to have booked a return flight, otherwise you might not get the visa at all you know?

I was actually so lucky w/ my job. I started telling people I was going months and months in advance and built up a list of people to call and ask for a job/internship. I got the phone number of my current boss and cold called him and asked for an interview, and just got lucky. There are some good websites for sure, like monster.com or idealist.org. Another thing I did for like law/social policy stuff was to go on college websites and find lists of internships that they offer for their students, and then look them up and apply. The best advice I could give is to start looking early, find a list of companies you want to apply to, and then just talk to absolutely everybody. You'll definitely find something but it is much easier if you do the ground work before you go. I'd say the 90 days to find a job would go pretty fast if you were starting from scratch. Hope this helps!

prescar

That's great advice, thanks a mill! I won't be going until after Christmas next year because I've been told if I don't return from my J1 until October 2012 then I have to wait 90 to enter the US again waiting for a new visa.

Loads of people have been telling me I need to relax if it's not going to be until next year that I'm heading but to be honest, the earlier the better I suppose or when I know exact detail of when I'll be there I'' be able to plan better! I'm defo gonna get searching companies soon and have a gawk round.

Thanks and best of luck over there

Rosita Flangita

Hey guys! I need HELP!

This forum has been very useful, but basically I went with the iii center, and I'm near the end of my 90 days and I havent secured a job in my field.
Has this happened anyone? What do I do? Will I have to leave or is there a way around this? Please say yes I don't want to leave!
I know USIT let you stay on if you show a bank statement every 30 days as proof that you have money. Do iii do this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm stressing!

amymariac

I'm not sure, but I would think that if USIT allow you to stay with proof of financial security, then maybe the IIC would do the same? I thought that the IIC could provide help with finding a job? Have you tried asking them for help? What field and what city are you in?

Rosita Flangita

Im in New York. The IIC send me 6 places to look for jobs yesterday - 3 months in. From what I see USIT are a way better company, even if they are a tad more expensive. I don't know anyone else that has went with the IIC so I can't ask anyone what happened to them! IN the middle of a black hole!

EvSenn

Hey, I'm travelling with IIIC and I was hoping to take two or three weeks before my visa start date to look around for jobs over in the states. The people at IIIC recommended that I do this. The problem is, most insurers seem to refuse to give backpacker-type cover for over 365 days. They're all trying to push full health insurance on me, which is way more expensive, even though backpacker insurance covers the prerequisites that the IIIC demand. Can anyone recommend a health insurance policy? I've wasted so much time looking at this point, it would be great for me and anyone else looking for help on this this thread if someone could point me in the right direction.

Corrimbla

Not that difficult actually http://www.backpackertravelinsurance.ie just type in the months you will be there and get your qoute.

B1977

I graduated from college October 2012.

is it possible for me to apply through the iiicenter for a visa to work in the USA

lil_lisa

Yes, as long as you apply to have the visa begin date before October 2013.

Monkey09

Rosita Flangita wrote: »

Im in New York. The IIC send me 6 places to look for jobs yesterday - 3 months in. From what I see USIT are a way better company, even if they are a tad more expensive. I don't know anyone else that has went with the IIC so I can't ask anyone what happened to them! IN the middle of a black hole!

Hi Rosita.
Sorry you're finding it difficult to find work. What is your backround and what type of jobs are you looking for?

I am in a similiar position to you. I got my visa through the IIC. I arrived in New York just over 2 weeks ago and I am having little or no luck finding a job so far... I have a legal backround and quite a lot of internship experience in Ireland so I thought I'd pick up something relatively easily, but I've been proved wrong in that respect.

To be honest, I find the 12 month J1 visa very restrictive with regard to work. The biggest obstacle is that I am not allowed to obtain work through a recruitment agency - As the US is also suffering in this recession, many of the jobs out there are advertised by recruitment agencies and therefore, I cannot apply for a large number of jobs being advertised. Another issue that I was informed of today by the Emerald Isle Immigration Centre in NY is that I cannot do any kind of secretarial/reception work as this is considered "unskilled" and is not allowed under the visa conditions.

I'm starting to feel stressed about finding a job too. I was just wondering if anyone else has run into similiar problems finding work because of these restrictions?

kmart6

amymariac wrote: »

I'm not sure, but I would think that if USIT allow you to stay with proof of financial security, then maybe the IIC would do the same? I thought that the IIC could provide help with finding a job? Have you tried asking them for help? What field and what city are you in?

Well I went with USIT and they did nothing to find me work, met a bunch of guys who went with IIC and they got them all in touch with people which led to jobs!

amymariac

Guys I'm looking for someone who has gone on this visa in the last six months or is planning to go with IIIC. I'm writing an article about the visa. I went with USIT and so just looking for someone who could give me an outline of the basic costs and time outline of the program with IIIC? If anyone wouldn't mind letting me ask them a few questions, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

lil_lisa

What are the recruitment agency restrictions? I don't see anything from the government about these.

Recruitment agencies are very difficult. They spend most of their time building their resume database so companies will use them. Most of the jobs they advertise are not even real.

I've had experience with them before. I had several in-person interviews. I was so sure I would get a job. And then all communication was dropped and I was left hanging.

Monkey09

lil_lisa wrote: »

What are the recruitment agency restrictions? I don't see anything from the government about these.

Recruitment agencies are very difficult. They spend most of their time building their resume database so companies will use them. Most of the jobs they advertise are not even real.

I've had experience with them before. I had several in-person interviews. I was so sure I would get a job. And then all communication was dropped and I was left hanging.

EvSenn wrote: »

I'm in a similar position regarding the recruitment agency. Two agencies have contacted me about work and it seems they'll definitely be able to find me something. Has anyone ever tried taking work from recruitment agencies? How strict are they on the no recruitment agency policy? It would make life so much easier if I could take one of these jobs.

One of the restrictions on the 12 month graduate visa is that you cannot obtain work through a recruitment agency. I received a number of call-backs from recruitment agencies (and none from companies themselves) so I decided to contact the IIIC to find out what my options were. They said that they are very strict on the policy that you cannot go through a recruitment agency. The reason they gave me was that if there was ever a problem in your employment, the US authorities do not want to have to deal with the recruitment agency as a third party in the situation - As ultimately, the recruitment agency would be considered your employer (as they are the ones paying you) and also have to communicate with the business that you are actually working for.

However, a friend of mine who is also here in the US informed me that once the DS-2009 form is filled out by the company you are working in, the IIIC (and US authorities) would have no way of knowing that you got the job through a recruitment agency...

EvSenn

Monkey09 wrote: »

One of the restrictions on the 12 month graduate visa is that you cannot obtain work through a recruitment agency. I received a number of call-backs from recruitment agencies (and none from companies themselves) so I decided to contact the IIIC to find out what my options were. They said that they are very strict on the policy that you cannot go through a recruitment agency. The reason they gave me was that if there was ever a problem in your employment, the US authorities do not want to have to deal with the recruitment agency as a third party in the situation - As ultimately, the recruitment agency would be considered your employer (as they are the ones paying you) and also have to communicate with the business that you are actually working for.

However, a friend of mine who is also here in the US informed me that once the DS-2009 form is filled out by the company you are working in, the IIIC (and US authorities) would have no way of knowing that you got the job through a recruitment agency...

Thanks for the help. I was told by the agency that the great majority of people they recruit are initially paid directly by the agency, but that there are a number of "direct hire" positions in which I would technically be employed by the company itself and not the agency. Here's hoping that wouldn't be a problem.