I currently work for a large multinational company in London, England,
as does my girlfriend (different company).  She has been offered a
secondment to New York for 18 months starting the middle of next year.
 I have been in my current position for just under a year.  I am a
qualified Management Accountant (CIMA, I am not sure of how this
qualification is regarded in the US, but it is a Chartered Accountancy
Qualification in this country and is a global qualification
www.cimaglobal.com) and work as a Business Analyst with 3 years
post-graduate Experience.  I also have a relevant Financial Economics
Degree.  My plan is to request a similar secondment from my own
company to the most local office to where my girlfriend will be
working but this is obviously not a certainty.
I am therefore looking for information on what other options I have in
order to gain employement within a similar financial role for a 1 year
- 18 month placement and what regulations I would need to follow.  I
realise for example that I would need to organise employment before I
enter the US which complicates things further.
I am 25 years old and live with my girlfriend, though we are not
married.  Would my treatment be any different due to this?
A suitable minimum answer will provide information on the regulations
that I need to be aware of and suggestions on some good websites or
other resources that I can further research.  Likely time-frame,
costs, paperwork, likelyhood of success etc will all be useful.  I am
probably looking at a time frame of May-August 2004 as a departure
date so have about 6 months to organise myself.
Financial constraints mean I cannot afford to not be working during my
time in the US and contracting would be a good opportunity if I could
get a suitable working visa.  I am aware of working holiday visas in
Australia and other countries but realise that the regulatory climate
in the US is slightly more difficult.  Any other useful information
would be appreciated.

<If you can get your current company to transfer you to one of their
branches in the U.S. you would need to apply for an Intra-company
Transferee Visa (L-1).  You need to have worked for your company for
one year to eligible. Before applying for the visa, the US employment
has to be approved in advance by the Department of Homeland Security,
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) in the U.S. Your
employer needs to file form I-129L. If the petition is approved, you
then need to apply for your visa. If your employer regularly transfers
people to the U.S. it is possible that they may already hold a blanket
petition which will cut down on the paperwork.

US Embassy Consulate Section ? visa services.
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web/visa/niv/work2.htm

Finding a job and applying for a visa.
You will need to find a job with an employer willing to go through the
additional paperwork needed to employ you. The employer need to show
that no qualified US citizens or permanent residents are willing or
able to take the job. The employer will need to advertise the vacancy
and interview any suitable applicants. Due to the length of time this
takes, the sooner you begin to make arrangements, the better. You may
be in luck as there is currently a shortage of accountants in the U.S.
(see below).

Temporary work visa
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web/visa/niv/work.htm

Overview
The I-129 petition can be filed up to 6 months before entry. If the
I-129 is approved, notice will be sent to the consulate section of the
U.S. embassy in the UK. A l-129 petition costs $130. A premium service
is also offered for $1000.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/tempworker.htm#anchoroverview

Temporary Alien labor to meet temporary needs (H-2?s)
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/ecrd.htm#anchorH2

Forms and fees
http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm

Employment ? faq?s
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web/faqs/iv/faq_employment.htm

The American Embassy, London ? contact details.
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/ukaddres.html


Co-habiting partners
U.S. visa law does not recognise common law relationships. So if you
want to work you will need to apply for a visa in your own right.
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web/visa/niv/spouse.htm

If you were to get married.
If your partner has an L-1 visa and you were to get married to your
partner, you could apply for an L-2 visa. An L-2 visa would allow you
to work but you would need to seek employment authorisation. The US
embassy website says that for further information you should contact
the BCIS on your arrival in the U.S.

If however your partner is travelling on an H-visa, you can apply for
an H-4 visa which would allow you to accompany your wife but would not
allow you to work.

---------------------------------------------------------------
CIMA in the U.S.
CIMA is recognised as being equivalent to a United States Bachelors Degree.
http://www.cimaglobal.com/downloads/USA_Employment_Brief_0203.doc>

Shortage of accountants.
http://accounting-net.actg.uic.edu/Articles/Education/Shortage_of_accounting%20-%20Feb%2019%2099%20-%20NYT.htm

http://www.smartpros.com/x36368.xml


<Search strategy:>

<"us embassy" uk>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22us+embassy%22+uk>

<immigration>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=immigration>


<Hope this helps.>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by robfirestar-ga on 10 Dec 2003 15:27 PST

hi belinda,
some useful info But i must admit, not a lot i didn't already know
already. reading through, maybe i didn't specify the question very
well.  I was looking more for some avenues that i could follow if my
plan of transfering within my company was unsuccessful - potential
sites where suitable jobs may be found, perhaps agencies based in the
uk or us that may specialise in advice and arrangement of such
placements.  Also i was looking for independent sites that give
practical expectations of the visa process, rather than the government
site specified.  The relevance of CIMA within US employment as
described by an independent source rather than CIMA themselves would
also be useful.
Thanks

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 11 Dec 2003 05:31 PST

<I have included job matching and online job sites however since most
jobs are never advertised, it is better to contact companies directly
by sending them your C.V. To help identify potential companies you can
search the following data base.
http://www.labor.state.ny.us/working_ny/finding_a_job/diremp/search.asp

In addition many company web sites list current vacancies


-------------------------------------------------------

Job matching services.

USJobOffer.com
http://www.usjoboffer.com/services.htm

Foreignborn.com has a free service matching job seekers with U.S. companies.
http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm/start_here/3employment_visa.htm

Resume submission page.
http://www.foreignborn.com/career_ctr.htm

H1bsponsors.com
http://www.h1bsponsors.com/

VisaJobs charges a $99 fee for matching applicants with U.S. companies
willing to hire a foreign employee. Although the vast majority of jobs
are IT related, there are a few accounting jobs.
http://www.visajobs.com/index.html
Account managers ? assistants and auditors/economists, New York.
http://www.visajobs.com/members/sample_joblist.php3?offset=1700&totalRows=1911

H1visajobs.com
http://www.h1visajobs.com/

H1Base
http://www.h1base.com/page.asp?id=4

-----------------------------------------------------------
This company sponsors H1B visas so it may be worthwhile sending your
c.v to them to see if they have any other openings.
http://salesmarketing.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?Job_DID=J326G79TYPHV73PR0V

------------------------------------------------------------

Job sites.

Monster jobs.
http://jobsearch.monster.com/jobsearch.asp?q=&lid=550&fn=1&sort=rv&vw=b&cy=US&re=14&brd=1%2C1862%2C1863

New York Bankers Association 
http://nyba.careerbank.com/

JustAccounting.com
http://www.justaccountingjobs.com/genacc.nsf/Search?OpenForm

Accounting vacancies.
CareerBuilder.com
http://accounting.careerbuilder.com/ag.ic/NewYork/

Jobs in the money.
http://www.jobsinthemoney.com/metro/New-York-Accounting-Jobs

Careerbank.com
http://www.careerbank.com/seeker/statesearch/ny.cfm

Aprilinternational.com
http://www.aprilinternational.com/nyacctg.html

Financial jobs
http://www.financial-jobs.com/finance/jobs/NY/28,29,30,31,61.html

Craigslist
http://newyork.craigslist.org/acc/

----------------------------------------------------------

Recognition of CIMA.
I searched for U.S. jobs that particularly specify CIMA as a
qualification. The only opening that I could find was with Merrill
Lynch.
http://accounting.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?Job_DID=JZ0TH62XMNZJDLCVMX

IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession of
which CIMA is a full member.
http://www.ifac.org/About/
http://www.ifac.org/About/MemberDetails.tmpl?MemID=454654

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recognises CIMA
and allows membership to members of CIMA.
http://www.aicpa.org/members/join.asp>


<Additional links:>

<British expat sites ? may of these sites feature forums where
personal experiences of getting visas are described.>
<http://sunnybrits.com/british/resources/expats.htm>

<Claims that HB1 workers are paid less.>
<http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/3531267.htm>

<H1-B programme.>
<http://www.murthy.com/UDgao.html>

<Hope this helps.>