H1B Visa (1 Viewer)

[monkeymafia]

Thinking of going for one. Anyone got any experience in the matter, know anything at all?

 

[Johnny_Fontane]

No H1B visas left until next year and you need to be sponsored by an employer in the states.

Try the lottery. Its your only chance going unsponsored.
http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/

The other option is the L1, you have to work in ireland with the company a year and then transfer across with them to their us subsidiary/parent.

 

[jack nance hair]

Looked into this myself over the last few years. Yes, for the H1B, you need to get a company to sponsor you (i.e. get a job). I know a few IT people who did this during the heady days of the late 90's/early 00's when there was a surplus of jobs in IT. However these days there isn't quite the same amount of demand. From what I've been reading, the H1B visa has become more a means for companies to mass-hire cheap labour from overseas.

If you have contacts and can get yourself sorted in a job (and your line of work is on an approved H1B list), then you should get in as early as possible in the new year (there is a fixed amount of visas given out per year which usually run out before the year is up). However, I've found that if you don't have the contacts, companies are reluctant to hire H1B people at market rates given to time it takes to process (4 months) and the costs involved, especially if there are locals looking for the same job.

There are a number of H1B websites that offer lists of companies that take on H1B people - I signed up for one of these lists a couple of years ago, but to be honest, it was fairly shit. Of the few companies on the list that were in the industry I was looking for a job in, most said that they were no longer hiring H1B's. Also, none of the companies are based anywhere a civilised person would want to live. 'Fraid I haven't got the list anymore tho. I'd say most of these are a waste of money (as are any sites that offer to put you in the visa lottery with a greater chance of winning).

 

[monkeymafia]

Cheers for that. I'd be in the whole IT side of things as well and have no contacts over there so i guess i stuck. Was hoping it wouldnt be as bleak as you say but had a feeling it would be.

 

[jack nance hair]

It might have picked up a bit now - I was looking into it a couple of years ago, and the whole IT industry seems to have picked up a little since then. It seems to have been fairly easy to get these 5 or 6 years ago, so it might be worth trying and see how you get on. It might help if your not too choosy as to where you want to go (I was looking for somewhere in the NYC vicinity only). A lot of the bigger companies who hire en masse will be based in more remote locations (Texas, areas of California etc.). Good luck with it!