I want to move to The States for a while..

[fade_2_black]

My girlfriend and I have spoken about it a bit and we think we are keen to spend a year (or longer, if we can get the right visas) in the USA, just for a bit of a change in lifestyle and surroundings, not to mention we know it will be a killer experience too.

Obviously I'll only be moving over there if I can line up something for work. This wont be until my girlfriend finishes her studies too, midway through next year. Hopefully by then I will have done some more work in the States and may be able to line something up there work-wise.

But anyway, to get to my main question.. Im trying to find websites where I can find accommodation and possibly decent job-search type websites for my girlfriend. Ive done countless google searches but there seems to be so much crap coming up and to be honest, I dont know what is trustworthy and reliable.

Yes, very far in advance but we want to get an idea of what kind of costs we will be looking at and what savings we might need and shit.

If anyone can help that would be killer!

 

[Harry Hughes]

You may want to wait until it's absolutely certain the Financial Crisis is totally over before you move to any other country dude.
Good luck getting a job in these economic conditions

 

[egan.]

If you're looking for a job and a place to live it helps to know where you are going and what you want to do. Honestly craigslist for any city is a reasonable place to start.

 

[Jind]

It's probably going to depend quite a bit on what type of skills you bring to the job market. I don't fully understand how "work visas" are issued, but most of the foreign nationals I know, and work with, have sponsored visas in high tech fields. For some it is a bit of a pain in the ass always having that sponsorship thing hanging over them in these tough economic times, knowing that at any time, their job could be gone and with it the sponsorship required to keep them in the country.

As far as finding a job, especially one that would be willing to take on the task of work visas and al the complications surrounding it, it appears that most of those types of jobs are as paid consultants in a variety of high tech fields. I would think you could do some research on these contracting/consulting firms and see if any recruit actively from your country, or look at local firms that may do business in the USA and see if they have openings overseas.

I may be speaking out of my ass as I don't fully understand work visas procedures, but this is what I know, and I hope you can work something out so you and your girlfriend can experience America.

 

[J.DavisNJ]

Need more specifics to help you out.

I'm also unsure of what the work visa process is like in this country, but it would help to know what schooling you have, previous work experience, skills, qualifications, all of that.

There are a zillion different routes you can go! If you are looking to study here, that is an option - I think you can obtain a study visa for this. If you are looking to just have a different experience for a year, like you said, then I would suggest some sort of trade based work, or something that requires minimal training to do the job.

I know a bunch of people that came here to study, because NYC offered them plenty of options in their desired field. They had a clear and concise goal and it worked out for them. I also have friends that came here for the same reasons as you and it worked out quite well for them. A friend of mind came from Asia and worked for a locksmithing business and made some serious money. It was hard work with some insane hours, but it worked for him.

My suggestion, if you find no other leads for "skilled" jobs, maybe try serving, bartending, etc. etc. something you can learn quite fast and make damn good money if the location is good.

Just my $.02.

Good luck,

Joe

 

[J.DavisNJ]

Here is a link with all the information you will need regarding different visas:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/visa_1750.html

Joe

 

[J.DavisNJ]

It would also probably be wise to figure out where you would like to temporarily relocate to, and see if their is a consulate office there.

Ah, the consulate for New Zealand in NYC...reminds me of "Flight of the Concords."

Joe

 

[ronnan]

Murray..what a hero...

 

[amarshism]

God I love being a dual citizen.

Good luck dude.

 

[Skinny Viking]

another good site
http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/

 

[neverpurify]

I would pick a region and then focus on finding a job, place to live etc.

the U.S. is so different from one region to the next. any particular area in mind?

 

[iekobrid]

The short answer is that to get a non-immigrant work visa, you would need to already have already been hired by a stateside company for a specific job that they will swear to the US gov't is either so skilled or so menial that they cannot find a single american able/willing to do it.

 

[Skinny Viking]

The short answer is that to get a non-immigrant work visa, you would need to already have already been hired by a stateside company for a specific job that they will swear to the US gov't is either so skilled or so menial that they cannot find a single american able/willing to do it.

pretty much exactly right. Work visas are actually difficult to get. The company that would hire you is essentially sponsoring your stay here and that makes them pretty much financially responsible for you for up to 5 years I think .. point being that the government doesn't just want someone moving here cause they're offered a job and then that person gets fired 6 months later and becomes a "burden of the state"

The easiest to get for a normal person is a student visa but there's a whole shitstorm associated with that as well

 

[fade_2_black]

Cheers guys - how did I not think of Craigslist?!

Yeah we have a fair idea of where we may go, I have a few contacts in LA and may be looking at somewhere in California, maybe somewhere further south though.

Yeah the idea of bartending or waiting, something like that is a good one - I think that was what my gf was thinking of doing.

I think once we settle on a location Ill be able to begin enquiry for work, etc. I spent 6 weeks in the states earlier this year on tour and made a lot of good contacts, I know if I was to migrate I could at least get the odd tour - I know I should have a couple of things lined up for 2011/2012 over there already. Would be cool if I could sort something like do a tour and then stay there - that way Id have a decent amount of cash to start with and also wouldnt have to cover my flight over either - could work out!

Quite coincidentally we have a family friend that is very high up in the NZ - USA migration office in NZ so hopefully I may be able to sort something out visa-wise with her.. A shame NZ is such a dead-end..

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Really depends on where you want to live. I was renting a full house for $470 in the midwest. You can't rent a closet for that much in NYC.