find work in San Francisco

is it possible to get an offer before arriving?

[mongoloid001]

Hi, Is it possible to find IT work in San Francisco Bay Area without being there physically? Anyone has done that before? Since my girlfriend will be working for the General Consulate of Japan for the next 5 years or so, I could really use some help on this one. And with minus 40 degree celsius(which is exactly -40 Fahrenheit) up here the last couple of weeks, I wouldn't mind some warm weather for a change. Seriously though, I really think my unique situation is very good for me careerwise. I have:
- 2 years of experience working in a small but dynamic data consulting firm at this point
- and will be focused for the next few years, which will allow me to build trust with my employers and my clients
- also since I am a canadian, I don't need a sponsor to work in California
- have really good skills(Oracle, Java, XML, Web Applications, etc), so it's time for me to take on more responsibilities and be more productive.
- also I am fluent in Chinese, and intermediate level of Japanese

Let me know if this is possible with current tough job market in San Francisco. Anyway, I will be moving to San Francisco in three months. But I would like to explore more opportunities before that. It's pretty costly to make the move in the short-run, especially to young people who's got student loans to repay:).

Thank you for reading my post! Any help or encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

-Mongo

[Hunter]

Do a search for Craigslist

[gopi]

>> since I am a canadian, I don't need a sponsor to work in California

Are you sure? ...As far as i know you need a T1 visa to work in US

[canamglobal.com...]

[mongoloid001]

Does that count as a sponsor? All I need is an offer from the company that wants to hire me, just like everyone else. From the company's perspective, they can treat me like a US citizen, No?

Thanks for pointing that out. I will do more research on that.

[Marcia]

>>current tough job market in San Francisco.

Geographically, Silicon Valley is not that far down the coast from San Francisco, with a lot of excellent residential areas halfway in between that are far less costly for housing than San Francisco proper.

[gopi]

>>From the company's perspective, they can treat me like a US citizen?

Nup , you are not a US citizen and you are also not authorized to work in US (until you get a T1 or other work visa) .You have to get H1-B or a T1 visa both of which are employer specific. Also T1 is for 1 year and you have to renew every year!

But getting T1 is not as hard as a H1-B (which is for hitech jobs for people from Non-NAFTA Countires) . But the only issue is how you will convince a employer that you have to get a visa to work (that too during a time when US citizens skilled to do that job are readily available )

Dont ever try to work before getting proper work permits/visa - if USCIS (INS) finds it will results in deportation and also hefty fines for your employer .Also it will be very difficult for you to enter USA in the future

[mongoloid001]

Oh, one very important question: is it possible to get a work permit/T1 after entering US? I know it's really hard to get an offer without a face-to-face interview, which basically means that I will have to enter US as a visitor and then start looking for an offer.

What should I declare myself as at the port of entry to the immigration officer? A canadian visitor who wants to find a job in SF for the next 5 years(at least)?

Thanks a lot for your advice!

[gopi]

I think you can enter US , attend any interviews get T1 sponshorship , get out of US and enter again into US in a valid T1 visa.

As you know canadians(as other western citizens) due to visa waiver program can enter into US without any visa for 90 days or less <snip>.

I am not an immigration expert - pls consult with any competent immigration attorney especially those whoe specialise in T1 cases.

[edited by: lawman at 10:52 am (utc) on Feb. 16, 2004]
[edit reason] No Legal Advice Please [/edit]

[lawman]

Anyone who follows legal advice (immigration or otherwise) provided by persons unknown on a public forum does so at their own peril.

As gopi says, if you have a legal question, consult a competent attorney.

lawman

[gopi]

Sorry lawman - i should have known that i cannot post the contents you sniped in a public forum :)

[mongoloid001]

yes, i need to talk to an attorney. I have been hearing scary stories now from my friends.

One of them being you won't be allowed to enter US if you told them you want to look for a job while visiting!

And then there was this guy who got an interview in US, but was refused at the border because he told them he is going to an interview. Basically they don't like canadian coming to US looking for work.

[gopi]

>> they don't like canadian coming to US looking for work

Thats the law...NAFTA visa waiver only permits temporary visits and not working across borders without proper work permits/visa's .

You have to be happy atleast canadians can get T1 visa with ease for almost any professional jobs .But people from other countries should get H1-B and its only for high skilled jobs(IT/healthcare) and the employer has to prove he tried to hire equivalent skilled american worker and was not able to do (like newspaper ads etc) and it will take 3-4 months to approve .

Also H1-B is subject to a yearly quota of total 65,000 visas. ( i heard 2004 quota will expire this march!)