Working in the US f/ Canada - Travelling Gal, others who may know??

[D2B]

Hi

Well, as some of you may remember my husband was offered an internal position in the US a while ago, but for various reasons it wasnt suitable. Now, we are both professionals who have worked in both Europe and Asia Pacific and this offer has wetted our appetite so to speak about working and living in the US or Canada for a while. (I just need to get my head around how cold some of the places can get

)

So how does one go about it, we have read about HB1 visas? Green card lottery etc..... given the state of the economy are US companies hiring in the IT sectors?? I am at a loss where to start, we have always done country transfers with a company, but life is short and we want to experience some more things before our son becomes to old to move around, iykwim so are looking to move things along, rather than wait for an internal move that may or may not happen. We have read here in the UK that Canada is looking for IT people - how real is that?

So anyone with stories to share or places to point me to, things to know, or pitfalls to avoid - it would be much appreciated. We are loving the UK at the moment, but the itchy feet and wanderlust is starting to hit again, and we need to find out realistically what our options are.

Thanks in advance.

D2B

Please excuse the typo in the heading title.

 

[Independent Gal]

What I can tell you from my experience as a non-citizen working in the US is that finding a job first, and then letting them deal with all the immigration crap will save you HUGE headaches. Not to mention 1000's of dollars.

No idea about the demand in IT. Are you guys super-stars? That would definitely make it easier, because technically, for an H1B, the employer has to claim that none of the 300 million Americans could do the job as well as you could. In reality, that gets fudge-d quite a lot. But given that only 1/2 of H1B applications are accepted, you want those odds on your side! Green card lottery is a looooong shot, but it worked for T'Guy.

Oh yeah, and note that you'd probably BOTH have to get an H1B. Just because one of you has one, doesn't mean the other one is entitled to work.

 

[TravelingGal]

I''m not an expert on H1B...but IndyGal is right...technically the employer is supposed to say they can''t find an American in 300 million who can do the job. Obviously that is fudged a bit.

RE: Greencard lottery...it depends where you were born for your eligbility. If you were born in the UK, you are not eligible. Northern Ireland, also not eligible, but the Republic is. Other ineligible countries (this changes from year to year, but usually these are sure to be on the list) are: Canada, South Korea, and Mexico.

DV2010 (I think this is where the are at) should open in October of this year and it is free to apply (and easy, so don''t pay to have someone do it for you). Let me know if you are interested in doing this and I can help you along the way if you actually get drawn to proceed.

 

[D2B]

Thanks Independent Gal and TravelingGal,

Will read the info and discuss with my husband. Things we need to consider are do we want to stay in the UK for a whlile longer or try and move on?? Will be be able to swing an internal transfer after all or do we try and do it ourselves? None of it really would be stressful pre children, but now with a preschooler, we need to consider schooling and potential upheavals.

TravelingGal, on the off chance if you do know, : I have dual citizenship, both countries are eligible. Does it have to be my birth country I apply under, or can I choose one of my two citizenship countries ???

well, it all makes life interesting if not a little hectic and stressful at times.
Thanks,
Will let you know if we go ahead and apply
We will also check out the canada information to see what the options are there. I tell you, sometimes live would be lot easier if my husband and I didnt have this insane need/desire to live abroad and explore the world.

Thanks again
D2B

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/7/2008 3:45:27 PM
Author: D2B
Thanks Independent Gal and TravelingGal,

Will read the info and discuss with my husband. Things we need to consider are do we want to stay in the UK for a whlile longer or try and move on?? Will be be able to swing an internal transfer after all or do we try and do it ourselves? None of it really would be stressful pre children, but now with a preschooler, we need to consider schooling and potential upheavals.

TravelingGal, on the off chance if you do know, : I have dual citizenship, both countries are eligible. Does it have to be my birth country I apply under, or can I choose one of my two citizenship countries ???

well, it all makes life interesting if not a little hectic and stressful at times.
Thanks,
Will let you know if we go ahead and apply
We will also check out the canada information to see what the options are there. I tell you, sometimes live would be lot easier if my husband and I didnt have this insane need/desire to live abroad and explore the world.

Thanks again
D2B

Yup, I do know. It does not depend on your country of citizenship. It depends on your country of NATIVITY. One girl on a message board I frequented applied based on her country of citizenship and was drawn for further processing...only to be disqualified down the road when they found out that she didn''t apply on her country of nativity (which sadly, WAS eligible...she just didn''t know the rules, and the government does not give second chances.) The road to a DV win seems totally confusing (in fact, I''ve heard lots of horror stories of disqualification based on the littlest things) but once you do your research, it''s actually very easy and the most cost effective way.

You AND your husband can apply (if he is qualified) and then if one of you wins, the other comes can immigrate as the spouse.

There are 2 criteria to even be qualified. You must have finished the equivalent of 12 years of school (or have a job that requies 2 years of training...this is harder to prove) and of course the nativity. That''s it. But they are very strict on this.

Here is the website...

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html

And instructions for 2009, for your FYI, which is now closed for registration...

http://travel.state.gov/pdf/2009DVInstructions.pdf

BTW, I was wrong...for 2009, Northern Ireland WAS eligible.

And you can be eligible in two ways other than nativity:

"Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents’ country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2009 program."

On the off chance that your country of nativity is Australia, and you win, I can really help you there because that is where TGuy is from. Every region seems to do it a bit differently.

 

[saltymuffin]

The economy in Canada is a bit better than the US right now. Depending on your expertise, you might have better luck finding a job in Canada. Obviously the rules for visas etc are all completely different than the US.

Here is the gov''t website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

 

[D2B]

Thanks again TravellingGal and Saltymuffin.

We will have to do a ton of research and then see what we want to do. boy, sometimes I wish we could just settle down somwehere and be happy, but we have this insane desire to keep on exploring.

TravellingGal, my husband is an Aussie, so if we go through with it, your experiences will be really useful.
However, at the moment I have a bad cold, so off to bed, with some more chocolate (I am sure it will help

) and some trashy magazines.
Thanks all, gotta love this site, diamonds and life advice, what more could a girl want.

d2b