Millions of people from all over the world dream of moving to work in the USA, HabrΓ© is full of articles on how exactly this can be done. The problem is that usually these are success stories, few people talk about possible mistakes. I found interesting on this topic and prepared an adapted (and slightly supplemented) translation of it.
Mistake #1. Hoping for a transfer to the USA from the Russian office of an international company
When you start thinking about moving to America and googling the first options, everything seems to be quite a daunting task. Therefore, often the easiest way out may seem to work in an international company with offices in the United States. The logic is clear - if you prove yourself, and then ask for a transfer to a foreign office, why should you be refused? In reality, in most cases, you will most likely not be refused, but the chances of getting into America will not increase much.
Of course, there are examples of successful professional immigration along this path, but in ordinary life, especially if you are a good employee, it will most likely be beneficial for the company that you work in your current place for as long as possible. This is especially true for people who start in junior positions. Gaining experience and credibility within the company will take you so long that you will feel ready to ask for a move many years later.
It is much more effective anyway to go to work in a well-known international company (for a beautiful line in your resume), actively engage in self-education, communicate with colleagues from different companies, improve your professional level, develop your own projects and look for opportunities for relocation on your own. This path looks more difficult, but in reality it can save you a couple of years of your career.
Mistake #2. Relying too much on a potential employer
The mere fact that you have become an experienced specialist does not guarantee that you will be able to come to the US to work. This is understandable, which is why many also take the path of (relatively) less resistance and look for an employer who can sponsor a visa and relocation. It is important to say that if this plan can be implemented, then everything will be quite convenient for the moving employee - after all, the company pays for everything and takes care of the paperwork, but this approach also has its significant disadvantages.
Firstly, the preparation of paperwork, the cost of lawyers and the payment of state fees pour out for the employer in an amount exceeding $10 per employee. At the same time, in the case of a regular American H1B work visa, this does not mean at all that he will be able to quickly begin to benefit.
The problem is that work visas are issued several times less per year than applications are received for them. For example, for 2019 and about 200 applications have been received. It turns out that more than 130 thousand people found an employer who agreed to pay them a salary and become a sponsor for the move, but they were not given a visa because they were not chosen in the lottery.
It makes sense to go a little longer and apply for a work visa to the United States on your own. For example, on HabrΓ© published . You can get it as an experienced specialist in your field, while there are no quotas and lotteries in this case, you can come and start working right away. Compare yourself to competitors for jobs who are sitting abroad and waiting for a sponsor, and then have to go through a lottery - their chances will clearly be less.
There are a number of websites where you can learn more about the different types of visas and get relocation advice, here are a couple of them:
- β a service for ordering consultations, a database with documents and descriptions of various types of visas.
- Β«β is a Russian-language platform for finding expats from different countries who, for a certain amount or for free, can answer all questions related to moving.
Mistake #3. Lack of attention to language learning
It is important to understand that since you want to work in an English-speaking country, knowledge of the language will be a prerequisite. Of course, in-demand technical specialists will be able to get a job even knowing English imperfectly, but even a conditional system administrator, not to mention a marketer, will find it much more difficult to do this. Moreover, knowledge of the language will be needed already at the very preliminary stage of the job search - writing a resume.
According to statistics, HR managers and executives responsible for hiring employees spend no more than 7 seconds viewing resumes. After that, they either read it carefully or move on to the next candidate. Besides, resumes are rejected due to grammatical errors and typos contained in the text.
To avoid such situations, you need to constantly learn the language, practice, and use auxiliary tools (for example, here extensions for Chrome to help language learners), for example, to find errors and typos.
For this, programs like or (in the screenshot)
Mistake #4. Lack of active networking
It is clear that there is nothing worse for introverts, but if you want to build a successful career in America, then the more different acquaintances you make, the better. Firstly, the presence of recommendations will be useful, including for obtaining a work visa (the same O-1), so networking will be useful even at home.
Secondly, immediately after the move, the presence of a certain number of local acquaintances will help save a lot. These people will tell you how to look for an apartment for rent, what to look for when buying a car (for example, in the USA, a title for a car can be of different types, which say a lot about the status of the car - past accidents, twisted mileage, etc.). - it is unlikely to know all this before moving), placing children in kindergartens. The value of such tips can hardly be overestimated, they can save you thousands of dollars, a lot of nerves and time.
Thirdly, the presence of a "pumped" network of contacts on LinkedIn can be useful directly in employment. If your former colleagues or new acquaintances work in good companies, you can ask them to recommend you for one of the open vacancies. Often, large organizations (such as Microsoft, Dropbox and the like) have internal portals where employees can send resumes to HR of people who they think are suitable for open vacancies. Such applications usually take precedence over just letters from people on the street, so extensive contacts will help you get an interview faster.
: experts advise, if possible, always submit a resume through a contact within the company
Mistake #5. Insufficient financial airbag
If you are planning to build an international career, then you must understand the risks and possible costs. In the case of self-issuance of a visa, you will bear the cost of preparing the petition and state fees. Even if the employer pays for everything in the end, after moving you will need to find an apartment (with a security deposit), deal with the shops, decide if you need a car, and if so, how to buy it, in which kindergarten to place the children, etc. .d.
In general, there will be a lot of domestic issues, money will be needed to solve them. The more money you have in your bank account, the easier it is to get through this period of turbulence. If every dollar counts, then any difficulty and sudden spending (and there will be many in a new country) will create additional pressure.
In the end, even if you end up deciding to screw everything up and return to your homeland (a perfectly normal choice), such a trip as a family of four will cost several thousand dollars one way. So the conclusion is simple - if you want more freedom and less pressure, save money before moving.
Source: habr.com