British Expatriate Network

I have a friend back home who has asked me to find out how he goes about getting a visa to be able to work over here. My first thought was tons of luck to you!
I obtained my green card through marriage so I didn't need to deal with all the other end of it.
My only advice is trying to find a company to sponsor him, he has a degree in journalism. I don't know how he would go about that or if there are any other solutions besides working under the table.
Just wondered if any of you lot had any advice I can pass onto him.
Cheers
Maria

Ok, having gone through this recently, as far as I know there are 3 ways to get in, unless your company in the UK transfers you over here.
1) Have an occupation that is on the list for which the USA has a shortage (eg nurses). Don't think journalism will work for that one.

2) Have several million dollars to invest, and say you want to start up a company over here (unlikely!)

3) Find a job over here first. If you apply for, and are offered a job over here, then the company sorts out your visa, probably an H-something. This visa will let you work for a limited time (up to 6 years) here for that particular company. It can be transferred to another company if you change jobs, and if you lose your job you have 6 weeks to find another one before you have to leave. Be warned, it can take a loooong time for the INS to process this. Ours took 2 years, but I think that was some sort of record!

I practice, many people who come out on an H visa go on to apply for green cards to stay here permanently.

Well - if he is a *very, very good* journo then he might be able to get a job with my husband Pete's employers, the "Reuters" news agency in Times Square or in Washington DC. The American equivalent is AP - the "Associated Press". I don't know if he is a fresh graduate, as 'Reuters' does have a grad trainee scheme - some grads came out for a few months when we were in Singapore and trainees can be posted to numerous countries. It would be best for him to take a job in London and hopefully then get a transfer to the US...

He could also try the BBC TV & Radio, ITN and SKY who all have British journos based here. I don't know if any of the Public Broadcasting radio & TV channels would want to take a Brit for a different perspective on topics, but they may want to sponsor him. Does he have a specialism, eg. politics, financial journalism, medicine etc?

He should try and get hold of a copy of "Living and Working in America" by David Hampshire (I got mine in WH Smiths). It has all the visa categories and tips on the best one to try and get depending on your situation.

If by any chance he is from Northern Ireland he could enter the Green Card Lottery. Mainland Brits are excluded evil (even though the Brits are the American's best allies in the "War against Terrorism), but if you're from NI you can enter the lottery.

I've NEVER and I mean NEVER understood y mainland Brits r excluded from the "Green" Card Lottery. We are America's best allies FULL STOP. Yet in this instance we are discriminated against. Long time it stopped, imho. As an American (naturalized citizen from the UK, the mainland bit of the UK) I will be writing to my Congressman to make this exact point. Brits as a whole should be allowed to enter the lotto for green cards.

Hear hear! I wish all other Brits with US nationality (or their American spouses) would also like to write to their Congressmen too!

Perhaps you could write a sample letter, then they can write out a similar letter and mail it off. Their names and addresses can be easily obtained from the local Town Hall, library or on the internet.

Yes, it is appalling that mainland Brits can't go in for the Green Card lottery, yet I've met no end of (Southern) Irish people who have won a GC. ??? sad

If he is workinga s a journalist he may also be eligible for an I or journalist/media rep visa which may be his best bet..

otherwise with a degree in journalism he could more than likely get a H1-b professional worker's visa...if you pay the additional $1000 premium processing fee you can get it in 15 days guaranteed...in fact I just ghot one approved in 4 days, her in Los Angeles...unbelievably quick for the INS

OK - please explain to me exactly what a Green Card Lottery is, why you think the UK should be in it and how this is a fair way to get into the US. Then convince me that I need to write to my congressman about it. smile

As I understand it, Kentgirl, the lottery is something you can do to get a greencard free. You fill in the application and send it in for the lottery and wait to see if your name is picked. There are only a certain number issued each year.

There are only certain countries that can go into it and the UK is one of the ones that can't. So we have no choice but to pay for our greencards.

I can't remember all the countries that can go in for it, but from what I understand it's biased against the British. I think if you are Irish you can apply?

It's supposed to be there for those people who come from poor countries or war torn countries etc. That's why, in some ways, I don't know if it would be right for british people to have access to it.

The official title is something like 'Diversity Visa' program. It is designed to increase diversity in the nationalities of immigrants coming to the US. So countries that are over-represented eg mainland UK, Cananda etc quite rightly do not get to participate.

Ru serioulsy implying that the Irish are under-represented in the USofA?????

I heard it was dead easy for the irish to get in because the Kennedy's made it so back in the sixties and no one ever bothered to change it grin

JH> exactly, couldn't have put it better myself. There is no rational reason to discriminate between Brits who are born on the mainland and Brits who are born in NI. Given that the UK is America's #1 allay, this on-going Kennedy practice should stop.

You don't also think that it may be something to do with the fact that Irish are immensly popular too, look at St Patricks Day, everyone wants to be Irish, they don't celebrate St Georges day do they now?

They really just want a party and any excuse will do. If many of them understood the full implications of being 'Irish', they'd probably give it a miss smile

The funny thing about the lottery and exclusion of Brits and Canadians is that over the years , a lot of Americans have congratulated me on settling here and told me that they need more 'good' people settling here. Err - I think I know what they are referring to.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by pilgrim_007 on 2002-06-15 1942 ]</font>

What is the Diversity Visa Lottery Program?
Each year, 50,000 immigrant visas are made available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. None of these visas are available for people who come from countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years.

from http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/howdoi/divlott.htm

The answer is for people in the UK to stop emigrating for 5 years :smile:

Regards
Nigel