japanese rendition of a missing person's song?

I believe you need a job offer before you can get a visa. I suggest that you visit and have as many interviews scheduled during that time. If you get an offer that you like get an immigration lawyer to file for an H1B visa (you can do this yourself but a good lawyer will be worth it). Until your visa is approved you will be allowed to work as a "consultant" for up to six months, as long as your employer agrees to this. H1B have a yearly cap, however, so they may already be gone this year. Another option is on O1 visa but you will only be eligible for this visa if you can prove that you're a highly accomplished architect (extensively published, lectured, award winner, etc).

Oh, and when you come to visit, DO NOT tell immigration that you're coming to look for work. You will most likely be denied entry. Tell them that you're visiting and make sure to have a return ticket. If they go through your luggage and find suspicious stuff (business cards, resumes, portfolios, etc.) they may deny your entry.

Thanks Paul. I'll bring a CD. How is the work scene generally? Busy?

LA is generally quite busy. Other members here may be able to give more info. You can check the jobs and salary poll for a little more info on the LA scene.

If you eventually need a lawyer, shoot me an email. Mine is in New York but she's the best - a lot of architects here in LA work with her.

by the way, in the jobs section, many of the areas listed as "venice", "marina del rey", "manhattan beach", "silverlake", etc. are all just parts of LA.

Great. How about recruitment agencies? In London it's a sure fire way to get work. How about LA? Do you guys use them?

Some people here may be able to answer that one for you. I don't work as an architect, so I wouldn't know. Good luck.

i also dont work in the arch. industry, but ive never heard of people getting employment thru recruitment agencies for architects, but if you are looking at other forms of design businesses, recruitment agencies offer a lot of mileage

hit me up if and when you get here, i know a pretty good (and comparitively very cheap) lawyer here in LA. He has done lots of H1 visas for architects so he knows the procedure pretty well

First, I've met recruitment agencies at school, but I don't know anyone they've actually done jack for.

Second, the best way to help yourself get sponsorship is to have researched the process very carefully and do everything you can to minimize the amount of work necessary by your employer. It's very easy for someone to say, "I don't have time for this" if you need anything more than a signature here or there.