Advice on getting a job if I move to the States

Hi guys,

Hope some of you can give me a bit of advice.

I currently work in a shop in the UK building and preparing circuit racing, hillclimb and sprint cars. Mainly old TVRs, Lotus etc. These aren't really my sort of car but it's good experience.

Bit bored of things here so I'm considering, work visa permitting, moving to the States and trying to find a job in a hot rod/resto shop.

I've got a good wide range of skills, from engine building to MIG welding and fabrication, and only work older carb n points type cars. Not a paintwork guy really, but I have done it.

Where do you suggest is best place to look for such a job? Would a shop be prepared to take someone on with a work visa? I'm pretty much open to any suggestions or advice.

Are there many jobs in the resto/hot rod industry right now?

Thanks in advance...

 

Don't you have to have a job to get the Visa?
PM Big A.

 

just go on umeployment like everyone else.

 

Not much help here but I'd suggest the west coast or around the Phoenix area...there are rod shops and builders all over the US...depends on what type of weather you are looking for (if you need England type weather)...

I'd start by looking up rod shops and the like on the internet and firing off some sort of resume listing your experiences...I'm not sure every rod shop around would want a "resume", but it'd be good to list your skills...

R-

 

You definately need to have your paperwork in order, consider the shop owner has likely never dealt with a legal work permit. So know whats required and line up a job prior to coming to the states.
consider north or south carolina where all the nascar shops are located.
You also might contact Wayne Carini, host of chasing classic cars, he may need or know contacts that can use your UK car knowledge, his is shop mechanic knows his stuff but is getting up there in years.
Also contact SCCA vintage racing organizations or post up on their boards, theres got to be some wealthy vintage racers that need your experience.
Key in on shops that specialize in vintage British cars, its your strength that not many in US have, use it.

A lot of these jobs are word of mouth, which you dont have in the US, put together some kind of history of your work, cars youve built, what you did on them so future employers can see you talents. might be worth launching a website or photo hosting page to get your name out there.

 

There are some F1 and "exotic" owner shops at infineon whom are always looking for talent .... could get you through times till you find a hot rod shop to work at ... those rich boys know all about sponsoring a guy to work in the US ... search alittle , sounds like your best bet is to hookup at a road course track.

 

Stay where your at.....Over here employers are using the economy to get people to work cheap.Im making less money than I made 10 years ago.....Its bullshit....But cash is what I need to pay bills.....

 

you got some dark glasses , a tin cup ,and a long white stick , you can find the card board for a sign local , or if you come to massachusetts just sign up for welfare

 

Contact an immigration lawyer first, they will get you going on the right path. Everything else is just pissing in the wind. As far as finding out where to get a job in that industry I can't help you much. I don't imagine they contact the local employment office to post openings so that leaves contacting people directly, in the U.S. I'd do a bunch of homework about where your racecar work would be best put to use. There are tons of shops in Charlotte, NC that cater to NASCAR. I'd imagine that it would be useful to start there.

I've been working expat for years and what you are planning will be rough to start and you may well start off with less than ideal pay. Take that into consideration vis a vis your family situation. If you are on your own, do it, even if you go hungry sometimes. If you are capable that will speak for itself and you can move from shop to shop until you get where you are comfortable.

Do lots of homework on cost of living, multiply it by two and cut in half what you expect to earn, this way you will always be pleasantly surprised when it goes your way.

The best of luck man, the US is the land of opportunity for those who dare.

 

You will not get a H1 visa without some serious qualifications or a company prepared to sponsor you.
I did the later it took 10 years to get my green card.

 

What the hell, visa? Come on over, get a plane ticket and just tell em' you're a mexican. Get free STUFF! Just sayin........... Seriously, though good luck. We need good people who can speak the language and want a job, not just free medical care and food stamps.

 

Screw working for someone else...assuming you have the talents you say you have and a real honest-to-John-Bull British accent, relocate to So-Cal or New England and open up your own British Sport Car Shop.
As a foreigner with intentions to open a business, you might be surprised how much money the U.S. Small Business Administration would be willing to loan you and I think people would flock to you based upon your experience and delightful accent...My 2 shillings Sire.

http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/...advisor/starting-business-us-foreign-national

 

Thanks for your advice guys. Great advice - It's all good stuff to think about.

Ultimately I don't really want to be working on British sports cars as I don't really like them!

I'm in the position at the moment where I have no ties. Oh, and trust me, the pay situation there cannot be any worse then that here!

 

Based on a thread on a British forum you'll need 10k spare to spend on lawyers etc

And my honest opinion is the classic car business in the UK is booming if your in the right sector, possibly more so than the usa ( some one will correct me if I'm wrong?)
Trouble is although British sports cars command hi value at the moment They are relatively cheap to restore / build but I should think there is more money in them than rods currently
I do hi end British cars RR , Bentley the odd bugatti,vscc stuff etc and don't have enough hours in the day .

All that said this country is a hole and I be in California in a flash if it was simple ...

Actually this country is lovely its just the governments need to pander to the arsenal end of society while rapping the people who work hard and are honest

Grrr...... rage

 

As a possible lead, this shop is run by a brit like yourself; You may be able to obtain the visa easier since you have "special qualifications/skills."

http://superlitecars.com/

 

These guys seem cool.
CAFERACER.NET Caferacers and vintage racers, vintage and classic motorcycles

 

Go to Mexico and you can walk across the border into the USA....Obama will welcome you as an illegal!

 

C'mon, the guy was asking a legitimate question and people just can't keep their fingers from blathering out nonsense.

That being said, my wife can answer any questions you may have. She's done quite a few of these H1 visas, and such. PM me if you're interested in phoning her and I'll pass you the info.

 

Here- http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=682170 in the Hamb classified today...not exactly in the "states" but close...

R-

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=675385&highlight=job+hiring



http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=663819&highlight=job+in+washington

Both guys are looking for workers, in the last month.

 

What kinds of cars do you want to work on?
What climate do you want to live in?

 

When I was in San Diego, I ran across a few ex-pats.
Here are my suggestions, after reading the other comments.
1. Figure out all the paperwork. Start on that now. It's hard to do right and easy to do wrong. You will find this is common, sigh.
2. Write up your work history and look for stuff over here that is a good fit. There are lots of niche shops that could use your skills. How long you stay in those depends on your ability to move to other jobs (you may find this in No.1). Get your foot in the door then find a good place.
3. Network as much as you can with friends there who you will want contact after the jump, and people over here that can help once you have made it. I saw quite a few that longed for "a touch of the old country" and appreciated a place where they served familiar food, drink and conversation. Even with a similar language, there will be culture shock.

 

I don't think he is interested in your political view of imigration. Why don't you keep it to yourself.

300ed,
I know that everyone dreams of comming to the United States to work. Hell a lot of us imigrated from the UK before this was even a country. You have not chosen a good time to want to make that trip. 40 plus years and a couple of college degrees recently landed me part time hawking parks at Autozone. I am not alone in this, it is common right now.

Recently there have been several rod shops on here looking for people to work. They have all wanted some sort of resume, it certainly wouldn't hurt you to apply at one of those. Your other option is to come over on a tourist visa find work and apply for residency or a work visa. A lot of europeans do that. I don't know how legal that is but if you don't go to work prior to your visa being intact; I don't think that you will encounter any problems doing it that way.

 

It all depends how legit you want your life to be. I've been working here for 8 years ( at a fortune 100 company) and I'm still nowhere near my green card. The company took care of everything at great expense and still it's difficult. That said, I meet ex pats every day who came in on a tourist visa, work cash in hand and have been here for a decade, thing with that is that one wrong move and your thrown out, and I don't think they can ever go home, totally illegal.

For an H1B you need a job first and an employer willing to sponsor you. And theres a limit to how many they give out per year. It's tough. If you are truly dedicated to a life change, take a vacation with the sole intention of coming here to talk to potential employers.....you may find someone willing to sponsor you if you pay for the costs.

There are investor visas but you need to dump a huge amount of money into a business or something

You could get a student visa and come here to study......but I think it's only certain courses that are eligible.

My advise would be dont quit your day job just yet, a good job in a field you enjoy is something a lot of people in the UK and US right now would kill for. And also, if your serious, talk to an immigration lawyer before you do ANYTHING.

F

 

I can't help you at all, but I know your dream, I often have that same dream........I know things are tough in the states right now and it's possibly not the best timing, but if you have the skills and the work ethic you will make it. Best of luck with your endevours.
You'd be silly not to use your british car knowledge as a stepping stone to what you really want to do, and as they say, those skills are sought after in the US of A.
just a thort.

 

If it's So Cal that appeals here's a law firm that specializes in nothing but immigration - you might want to talk to them. The process is not easy and there are no short cuts....

www.mgblaw.com

 

Personally I wouldn't rule out the Brit sports car shops as a way of getting over here. British cars are popular and the owner of a shop can boast having real British mechanics on his staff. If I were the owner of such a shop it would consider it a bonus and worth the effort of the sponsorship. Use what you've got to your advantage and work out the rest once you're here.

 

Very cool.

 

Here's my 2c. If you get caught working in the US illegally it used to be 10 years before you could enter again (that includes stopping for your plane to refuel to go onward), that was pre 9/11 I'm guessing it's longer now. If airport immigration even suspect you are going to look for work whilst on a holiday visa the same rule applies. Please don't even consider this.

I've dreamt of living in the US for 20 (I'm 33) years, about 7 years ago my personal life had gone down the toilet and I had nothing to lose so I looked into finally persuing the dream. When I looked into it they only allowed 200,000 sponsored visas a year, seems like a lot but when you consider the amount of people applying the chances are not great. The other thing is that sponsorship is expensive for the employer and is from what I've heard a complete ball ache! I decided that to increase my chances of sponsorship I'd increase my international experience which I did first in New Zealand and then here in Australia. There isn't an easy way into the US, hell us Brits are the only ones that can't enter the visa lottery but if you want it bad enough you'll get there eventually!

Four years ago I met my now wife here in Brisbane, turned out she was from Illinois and we'll be movin over in around a year. Crazy thing is I worked on a project over here with an American company and was offered the chance at sponsorship, if I hadn't met my wife I would possibly already be there!

Be patient, like others have said get a really good cv together, keep improving your capabilities and network. Best of luck to you mate!!

Adam

 

I'm not sure if you watch or read any U.S. news....but we seem to be headed in the exact same direction...sadly