Can anyone share their experience if they got transferred by their company from their home country to the US? How does it work?
I am working for a corporate architecture firm in India since 2 years. The firm's headquarter is in Virgina. My designation is of an architectural designer- I prepare CD, DD,SD, marketing files, 3Ds and PS renderings. I am planning to move to the US by next year. I am hoping if my company sponsors me H1 and transfers me to the US. If that happens then i won't have to take F1 route and later hunt for jobs.
I have shared my thoughts in performance review. Just wanted to know if anyone here got lucky!!
Thanks!
sameolddoctor
Aug 26, 19 4:40 pm
This is NOT unheard of. That said, you should know that, to get a H1 visa, the sponsoring company has to prove that they couldn't get a US citizen to do the work. This is not a tough process, but a lot of cheapo firms do not want to spend the money or time to do the process. Also, they need to pay you as much as they'd pay a citizen (prevailing wage), which doesnt happen many times.
Anyways, best of luck and PM me if there are more questions.
kjdt
Aug 26, 19 4:57 pm
In this case, because the OP only has 2 or 3 years of experience, the firm would likely have to pay them substantially more than they'd have to pay a citizen with the same amount of professional experience, in the same role. The way the prevailing wage is determined for an H1 visa isn't fine-grained enough to take into account a lot of different experience levels within each job category, making it particularly difficult to sponsor relatively inexperienced people. That makes sense, since that visa type is designed to help employers fill highly-skilled or highly-specialized positions for which there aren't enough qualified citizens, while entry-level positions aren't typically that specialized or hard to fill with citizens. I agree it's not unheard of, but this firm would really need to see the OP as indispensable to go to that expense to bring them to the US - otherwise the firm will probably just find someone else to whom to outsource.
sameolddoctor
Aug 26, 19 7:41 pm
Hmmm, the "Architects except Naval", which is what i did my H1B in years and years ago has distinct Levels, as seen here:
So if the OP was to go for a Level 1 wage, about 60K a year, 5k USD a month, I agree, they would have to be quite indispensable to the firm, without a US Degree....doesnt hurt to try, though.
kjdt
Aug 26, 19 8:20 pm
Yes, that's what I mean. The salary would be a stretch for many firms, for somebody with 2 years of experience who hasn't worked in the US and doesn't have an architecture degree (per the OP's other posts). It can be a stretch for a firm to justify it financially, as well as to claim with a straight face that they couldn't find a citizen with the same experience to take the position.
2020aditic
Aug 27, 19 8:34 am
OP has a 5 year
B.Arch degree !!
kjdt
Aug 27, 19 10:36 am
But it's not from an program that NAAB considers equivalent to a US accredited degree, so you're not easily able to obtain a license in the US and aren't necessarily considered to have a professional degree. I'm not intending to imply that you don't have the education to be useful to this firm - it's just that for visa purposes the firm has to make the case that they can't find an equally qualified citizen to take the position, at the prevailing wage. It's just likely to be a difficult case to make, because while we have been in somewhat of a building boom and it's harder to find staff than it was a decade ago, there's still no major shortage of people with B.Archs and 2-3 years of experience. If the firm were to advertise the position at the prevailing wage they'd get qualified applicants who are citizens. So you and this firm will need to identify some unique combination of skills that you bring to the table that nobody local can.
SpontaneousCombustion
Aug 26, 19 10:19 pm
When you shared this idea during your performance review, what kind of reception did it get? I think you need to ask your firm point-blank whether they are interested in sponsoring you. You keep asking variations on the same question here, but you're never going to get an answer from this forum that's specific to your situation. Just ask your employer, and if the answer is yes or if they seem receptive to negotiating further about it, then start working out the details (salary, sponsorship, timeline...). But if the answer is no, or if they hem and haw but don't seem to want to come to a decision about it soon, then apply to other firms. Make sure that the firms to which you're applying understand that you have experience working remotely for a US firm, and that you have a timeline in mind for relocating to the US.
2020aditic
Aug 27, 19 8:43 am
I mentioned it in the review form and looking forward to hear from them by next week. The HR says it is possible and needs to talk to AP further on this.
Hi everyone!
Can anyone share their experience if they got transferred by their company from their home country to the US? How does it work?
I am working for a corporate architecture firm in India since 2 years. The firm's headquarter is in Virgina. My designation is of an architectural designer- I prepare CD, DD,SD, marketing files, 3Ds and PS renderings. I am planning to move to the US by next year. I am hoping if my company sponsors me H1 and transfers me to the US. If that happens then i won't have to take F1 route and later hunt for jobs.
I have shared my thoughts in performance review. Just wanted to know if anyone here got lucky!!
Thanks!
This is NOT unheard of. That said, you should know that, to get a H1 visa, the sponsoring company has to prove that they couldn't get a US citizen to do the work. This is not a tough process, but a lot of cheapo firms do not want to spend the money or time to do the process. Also, they need to pay you as much as they'd pay a citizen (prevailing wage), which doesnt happen many times.
Anyways, best of luck and PM me if there are more questions.
In this case, because the OP only has 2 or 3 years of experience, the firm would likely have to pay them substantially more than they'd have to pay a citizen with the same amount of professional experience, in the same role. The way the prevailing wage is determined for an H1 visa isn't fine-grained enough to take into account a lot of different experience levels within each job category, making it particularly difficult to sponsor relatively inexperienced people. That makes sense, since that visa type is designed to help employers fill highly-skilled or highly-specialized positions for which there aren't enough qualified citizens, while entry-level positions aren't typically that specialized or hard to fill with citizens. I agree it's not unheard of, but this firm would really need to see the OP as indispensable to go to that expense to bring them to the US - otherwise the firm will probably just find someone else to whom to outsource.
Hmmm, the "Architects except Naval", which is what i did my H1B in years and years ago has distinct Levels, as seen here:
So if the OP was to go for a Level 1 wage, about 60K a year, 5k USD a month, I agree, they would have to be quite indispensable to the firm, without a US Degree....doesnt hurt to try, though.
Yes, that's what I mean. The salary would be a stretch for many firms, for somebody with 2 years of experience who hasn't worked in the US and doesn't have an architecture degree (per the OP's other posts). It can be a stretch for a firm to justify it financially, as well as to claim with a straight face that they couldn't find a citizen with the same experience to take the position.
OP has a 5 year B.Arch degree !!
But it's not from an program that NAAB considers equivalent to a US accredited degree, so you're not easily able to obtain a license in the US and aren't necessarily considered to have a professional degree. I'm not intending to imply that you don't have the education to be useful to this firm - it's just that for visa purposes the firm has to make the case that they can't find an equally qualified citizen to take the position, at the prevailing wage. It's just likely to be a difficult case to make, because while we have been in somewhat of a building boom and it's harder to find staff than it was a decade ago, there's still no major shortage of people with B.Archs and 2-3 years of experience. If the firm were to advertise the position at the prevailing wage they'd get qualified applicants who are citizens. So you and this firm will need to identify some unique combination of skills that you bring to the table that nobody local can.
When you shared this idea during your performance review, what kind of reception did it get? I think you need to ask your firm point-blank whether they are interested in sponsoring you. You keep asking variations on the same question here, but you're never going to get an answer from this forum that's specific to your situation. Just ask your employer, and if the answer is yes or if they seem receptive to negotiating further about it, then start working out the details (salary, sponsorship, timeline...). But if the answer is no, or if they hem and haw but don't seem to want to come to a decision about it soon, then apply to other firms. Make sure that the firms to which you're applying understand that you have experience working remotely for a US firm, and that you have a timeline in mind for relocating to the US.
I mentioned it in the review form and looking forward to hear from them by next week. The HR says it is possible and needs to talk to AP further on this.