Skilled working visa for usa.?

Padkir

Hey all,

Myself and the girlfriend are headin to Chicago in the summer, leavin 26th May. Anyone have any experience of it, where the best areas are for work/accommodation, prices of accom, etc? Any help is appreciated!!

x in the city

Guys

whats the deal with obtaining a visa for work in the states? I have a Masters and work experience and the government website is a mess to understand, seems to be millions of visas there.!

basically is there a 1 or 2 year visa I can get that allows me to work or apply for a skilled job in the states?

cheers

lonestargirl

Yes, a H1B but you need a job first and they will sponsor you. There is no visa (other than the intern/work travel J1s) that allow you come over without a job.

lil_lisa

Sounds like the training visa would suit you. It's maximum 18 months long, there's more details here.

Depending on when you graduated, you could also be eligible for the Internship visa.

x in the city

lil_lisa wrote: »

Sounds like the training visa would suit you. It's maximum 18 months long, there's more details here.

Depending on when you graduated, you could also be eligible for the Internship visa.

thanks for that

on the sponsor list,.? how do you select engineering related fields? there is nothing....?

cheesehead

Without knowing specifics, I'll just give you some general thoughts:

In my opinion, Chicago in the summer is tough to top. Generally fantastic weather and a tremendous amount of things to do and see.

Like any large, cosmopolitan city, Chicago is a series of neighborhoods. Depending on your likes/dislikes, certain neighborhoods might appeal more to you than others. Generally, young Americans (recently graduated from university), tend to concentrate more in the northside neighborhoods (Old Town, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville, etc..). Thus, these neighborhoods tend to have many bars and restaurants attracting that age demographic. As these neighborhoods tend to be somewhat "safer", the rent (or sublets), might tend to be a bit costlier. If one desires a "rougher"-feel neighborhood, rents likely will be lower cost. Also, if you are not planning on having a car, the above neighborhoods tend to have decent public transportation options.

Regarding jobs, while the jobs market in the US is still in "recovery" mode, I'd imagine an Irish J1 student who does a little advanced planning shouldn't have too much difficulty securing summer employment in Chicago. I wish I could be more helpful in this regard, but I really don't have specific information. One could peruse Craigslist (or similar) to get an idea.

Overall, I think you've made a wise choice for your J1 destination. Enjoy!

Padkir

cheesehead wrote: »

Without knowing specifics, I'll just give you some general thoughts:

In my opinion, Chicago in the summer is tough to top. Generally fantastic weather and a tremendous amount of things to do and see.

Like any large, cosmopolitan city, Chicago is a series of neighborhoods. Depending on your likes/dislikes, certain neighborhoods might appeal more to you than others. Generally, young Americans (recently graduated from university), tend to concentrate more in the northside neighborhoods (Old Town, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville, etc..). Thus, these neighborhoods tend to have many bars and restaurants attracting that age demographic. As these neighborhoods tend to be somewhat "safer", the rent (or sublets), might tend to be a bit costlier. If one desires a "rougher"-feel neighborhood, rents likely will be lower cost. Also, if you are not planning on having a car, the above neighborhoods tend to have decent public transportation options.

Regarding jobs, while the jobs market in the US is still in "recovery" mode, I'd imagine an Irish J1 student who does a little advanced planning shouldn't have too much difficulty securing summer employment in Chicago. I wish I could be more helpful in this regard, but I really don't have specific information. One could peruse Craigslist (or similar) to get an idea.

Overall, I think you've made a wise choice for your J1 destination. Enjoy!

Yeah there isn't too much up about jobs/accommodation yet, but will start doing some research in a while! Hopefully it will be a good experience anyway, thanks for your help!:D

cheesehead

Padkir:

I forgot to mention, but if you and your girlfriend don't have plans for the third weekend in August (18th-thru 21st), and are starting to feel a little homesick for Ireland, certainly consider attending the Milwaukee Irish Fest in downtown Milwaukee. It's the largest Irish Festival in the world (over 125,000 people attend). Depending on where you will be located in Chicago, it's only about an hour to an hour and a half ride to the north. (It seems half of the Chicago Irish-American population attends, so you might be able to snag a ride from folks if you ask around). It can be a little "hokey" at times, but it's generally an incredibly well-run event with some top-flight entertainment/acts. If you decide to go, one could consider getting a hotel room in Milwaukee for the evening. The Irish Rock stage (they have several stages catering to different genres of Irish Music) generally gets pretty rockin' with the beer flowing. Best bet, if this appeals to you, is to get a hotel room in Milwaukee so you don't have to worry about the trip back down to Chicago that evening. Following is the festival website link: http://www.irishfest.com/ The website has good information about the festival and some lodging options as well.

ianhobo

Typically you would go through someone like usit, sayit, or goforless who deal directly with the sponsor of your behalf. They provide you with the paperwork which you fill in, they pre-vet it, and send it on to the sponsor for you, as well as arranging other elements of the applcation

McNuggy10

Padkir wrote: »

Yeah there isn't too much up about jobs/accommodation yet, but will start doing some research in a while! Hopefully it will be a good experience anyway, thanks for your help!:D

Hey padkir!!
Also heading Chicago with a friend! !! flying gout June 2nd!! dead excited its ridiculous!!
You had any luck with finding any decent job sites or anything?
I try looking and jus end up google imaging places haha!

Padkir

McNuggy10 wrote: »

Hey padkir!!
Also heading Chicago with a friend! !! flying gout June 2nd!! dead excited its ridiculous!!
You had any luck with finding any decent job sites or anything?
I try looking and jus end up google imaging places haha!

Yeah I can't wait!! Ah, no luck really yet on the jobs front but to be honest i haven't been lokking too much!! Maybe in a few weeks I might get a chance to sit down and have a right look! A lot of the websites advertised on the J! site don't really have the summer seasonal jobs listed yet, but there's loads of time!
You have any idea what part of Chicago you're hopin to base yourself in!?:D

Padkir

cheesehead wrote: »

Padkir:

I forgot to mention, but if you and your girlfriend don't have plans for the third weekend in August (18th-thru 21st), and are starting to feel a little homesick for Ireland, certainly consider attending the Milwaukee Irish Fest in downtown Milwaukee. It's the largest Irish Festival in the world (over 125,000 people attend). Depending on where you will be located in Chicago, it's only about an hour to an hour and a half ride to the north. (It seems half of the Chicago Irish-American population attends, so you might be able to snag a ride from folks if you ask around). It can be a little "hokey" at times, but it's generally an incredibly well-run event with some top-flight entertainment/acts. If you decide to go, one could consider getting a hotel room in Milwaukee for the evening. The Irish Rock stage (they have several stages catering to different genres of Irish Music) generally gets pretty rockin' with the beer flowing. Best bet, if this appeals to you, is to get a hotel room in Milwaukee so you don't have to worry about the trip back down to Chicago that evening. Following is the festival website link: http://www.irishfest.com/ The website has good information about the festival and some lodging options as well.

Thanks! But we're actually comin back just before then...just to get settled, before starting new job, etc! thanks anyway though, I'm sure that will be of interest to loads of people!

McNuggy10

Padkir wrote: »

Yeah I can't wait!! Ah, no luck really yet on the jobs front but to be honest i haven't been lokking too much!! Maybe in a few weeks I might get a chance to sit down and have a right look! A lot of the websites advertised on the J! site don't really have the summer seasonal jobs listed yet, but there's loads of time!
You have any idea what part of Chicago you're hopin to base yourself in!?:D

I'm probably an actual sap but I can't see the jobs data base anywhere on my j1 account! I must try find it!!
From what people are telling me, wrigley ville or Lincoln park area are best and safest so I think that's where we're gonna go!
Are you's over 21?

Padkir

McNuggy10 wrote: »

I'm probably an actual sap but I can't see the jobs data base anywhere on my j1 account! I must try find it!!
From what people are telling me, wrigley ville or Lincoln park area are best and safest so I think that's where we're gonna go!
Are you's over 21?

Cool, I don't know where we're going to go yet to be honest! I'm 21 but my girlfriend is only 20...must get some paperwork to make sure that doesn't get in our way...!;)

McNuggy10

Padkir wrote: »

Cool, I don't know where we're going to go yet to be honest! I'm 21 but my girlfriend is only 20...must get some paperwork to make sure that doesn't get in our way...!;)

Ah sure she'll be 21 by the time she gets there.. least her ID will be anyway hahaha..

My brothers gf's room mate is trying to sort me out with a job so fingers crossed that'll be one less worry!!
If you come across any decent sites when ya start looking for jobs drop me a pm!!
Handy to know other people going over as well
Yay for boards connecting people haha

x in the city

I still dont understand how this would work, how would anyone usit etc know about what jobs i want or etc...

I have seen jobs alright, but of course you need to be a us citizen, I dont even know if this visa is a way in.

I might just email some head hunters or companies directly and ask..

ianhobo

Pretty much the only way is H1B or J1 intern/trainee.

With J1, USIT and the Sponsor company help you with the application and visa process, but can only help so much with the Job side of things. The sponsor can sponsor you in many fields, but finding a host company is the hard part, particularly in the IT/Engineering field. You would probably have to do most of the work finding a company yourself.

What is your area of study?

For J1:
The sponsor that USIT use is CIEE, they can sponsor you in many fields, including IT and Engineering. Depending on when you graduated, there is the option of either a 12months visa, or one up to 18months.

http://www.ciee.org/intern/

H1B:
This is just like trying to find a normal job except you need a company willing to sponsor you for a visa. H1B Visa applications can be applied for by companies on your behalf from April 1st for an earliest start date of October 1st of that year. There is a limited amount of these visas, and once the years quota is gone, they cannot be applied for until the next year.

So your options are to either try and find a company willing to hire you and sponsor you for a H1B (Which will be difficult at this time of year as the current quota is almost gone, and new applications from April will not allow you to work until this Ocotober)

or

Contact someone like USIT or sayit and inquire about their J1 intern/trainee programs. These visas can be applied for all year round. They will be able to offer some assistance in finding you work or a host company.