Bad timing, friend. The past few weeks have been fairly brutal in our profession in the U.S. If you don't believe me, search for and check out all the threads that start with the word "layoffs". I'm not going to tell you it can't be done, but you will be competing with roughly 20% of our workforce that just got laid off, and they are skilled, and they have bills to pay. If you really want to work here, you might look for jobs that don't pay. However, if you need an income, you may not even want to waste money on a plane ticket.

not a chance. compete for an unpaid intern maybe. sorry, that is the stark reality.

man, what a bunch of debbie downers. i think you've got a chance. you have a good skill set with bim experience. i think the fact that you are not american may actually help your chances, and your english is really quite good.

i would recommend sending out resumes and emails to u.s. firms while you are still in bulgaria; do not come to the u.s. until you have a job set up or at least a number of interviews set up. also see if your school can help you contact u.s. firms. have any of your professors worked in the u.s.? work your connections.

good luck!

Just what I expected.. :(
Thanks anyway!

jafidler, thanks for the advice (If your post wasn't a joke haha)
I'll try to connect with some people :)

I have heard that in a few American cities (los angeles, miami, portland, chicago, phoenix), the number of applicants per job are now in the hundred to one range ....you would have a better shot of getting into Harvard. We are not exaggerating when we say that the job market has 'slowed'. For any position you would be trying for, there are a whole group of people a lot more experienced than you who are competing for that job.

Also remember, you would have to get working papers. I have a friend from poland who was here on a student visa, and she had to wait for a whole YEAR to get a visa so that her parents could come to visit for a just a few weeks. I'm not sure of the particular situation with Bulgaria, but that might delay your plans.

Also, living off 10 bucks an hour in some parts of this country with out your parents house to live in is close to impossible. (the higher a chance of getting a job in architecture, the higher the cost of living) In places like new york, san fran, los angeles, at 10 bucks an hour, your rent would eat over half your check.

My recommendations....

1. Try IASTE,
they offer paid work exchange programs in fields like architecture, where your living expenses and visa are taken care of.

http://www.iaeste.org/exchange/disciplines.html

2. try waiting until you finish your degree.

you will be more attractive to both your possible employer, and the state department when you apply for your visa. Also the economy might be a little better in a year or two.

3. try planing on doing your graduate studies in the united states. Many universities actively seek foreign students, and the tuition rates in the state run schools are actually rather competitive. (my graduate program was 40 percent foreign...with students from around the world. )

4. try jobs in another field....like simply drafting, design, etc..
you might have a better shot.

5. Try for a Fulbright scholarship. They award scholarships for architects to study and work in the united states, but it is very competitive.

http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htm

although,

you say you want $10 an hour.

that is super low pay.

i bet if you say you only want $10 an hour, someone will be very happy to take you on.

cheap labor!

;)

sure cheap, but how exploitable?

For a firm to sponsor you for a visa they generally have to show that they're paying the prevailing wage for the position. Prevailing wages usually have to be documented by the state's Dept. of Labor - they can't usually be documented by things like AIA surveys or other "unofficial" sources. So it's pretty much impossible for a firm to legally hire someone on a visa and pay them $10 per hour, because the prevailing wages are much higher in most regions of the US.
Because the prevailing wages are usually determined for a specific postion/job title - but not for each level of experience within that title - it's somewhat difficult to hire entry-level or intern-level people on foreign visas, except for some very large firms that can afford to pay starting salaries to visa-holders that are high enough to represent the 50th percentile for everyone with that job title in all firms in that region.
Firms also usually have to say that they have made every reasonable attempt to find a US citizen or greencard holder for the job before they looked at hiring someone who needs a visa. This is pretty easy to establish during boom times when firms are competing for employees, but right now it's tougher to show that you've advertised the position but couldn't find anyone to fill it without looking overseas.

wouldn't it be nice if people worldwide refused to work or let others work for less than they were willing to for the same work... ahhh

dragov,

I don't want to be overly optimistic, but I think you might have a shot. Given that you're looking for a position only for a year and are willing to work for less than most people here, I'd say an office that might be reluctant to hire someone long-term in this economy might be interested in taking you on for a year. I'd definitely give it a shot, but as jafidler said, I'd wait on coming over until you actually had a job secured.

Good luck!

theres always work somewhere in America.