How I Found a Job in America: Getting My H-1 B Visa (Part Two)

I feel like I emigrated from England to the United States twice …

When I first came, the company I worked for called the Advanced Manufacturing Research Center (or AMRC) sent me to Virginia for a six-month work placement. I was to help a similar and new American manufacturing research center called Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (or CCAM). To do this, I had a nonimmigrant visa, specifically a B-1 visa. The B-1 visa allows someone to work in America but prevents employment by a U. S. company. I wrote about this process earlier in “How I Immigrated to the States: Getting My B-1 Visa (Part One).”

While in America, I was also able to network — This key factor is the reason I was able to find a job, get sponsorship, and make the move permanently to America.

I cannot stress how much of an advantage I had by actually being in the country and working because by meeting new people, I was able to make relationships that simply would not have had an opportunity to form if I was still in England.

Getting to know someone, having a chat over a coffee (or a beer), learning someone’s personality, joking with someone, and finding common ground are all ways people make connections — This is hard to do that over emails.

One networking opportunity I had involved going to California. I was lucky enough to be invited to visit an aerospace company in San Diego for a few days with flights, hotel, and a bit of fun thrown into the invite too! Here’s how this happened …

Senior Aerospace, who had done work with the AMRC, was interested in the opportunities available by becoming members of CCAM. (Membership is based on several levels with the higher levels costing more money to join but offering increased benefits, such as board positions, project spending capabilities, access to facility equipment, etc. Being that I worked at the AMRC and helped CCAM, I became Senior Aerospace’s point of contact. This is when a Senior Aerospace manager invited me to San Diego to tour Ketema and Jet Products, two aerospace companies that Senior Aerospace owns.

During the visit to the Ketema factory, I was introduced to the director of engineering who — within five minutes — was told by the Senior Aerospace’s manager that “Andy wants a job out here!” Discussions continued for a while but eventually petered out. California would not have worked out anyway because L was hesitant to move for a couple reasons with the major one being that she had only known me a couple of months when I asked her to go with me and the second being that she cannot speak Spanish, which is a requirement to be able to teach in California.

Anyway, I enjoyed California — I stayed in a hotel over looking the U. S. S. Midway …

visited El Jolla, which is beautiful …

drank beer in Ballast Point Brewing, and hooned around Coronado Bay in a speedboat …

However, the most fortuitous event came when another company was interested in becoming a member at CCAM too, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time …

Tooling manufacturer Kyocera SGS Precision Tools was about to open a new division of SGS (known as the Kyocera SGS Tech Hub) in Danville, Virginia so the opportunity to work with CCAM (and, therefore, its members) was appealing. Because of this, Kyocera SGS sent two guys named Alan and Jason to visit CCAM — Alan is English and was the new president of the Tech Hub. Jason is American and was the new CEO of the Tech Hub. (He later became my future employer and, more importantly, a great friend.)

When Alan and Jason came to visit, I happened to be walking by talking to someone. Being that English guys are in relatively short supply in Virginia, Alan and I both heard each other’s accent so introductions were made and a brief conversation began. Alan and Jason were both about to head into a meeting though … but not before I was invited to dinner that evening with the two of them in Richmond.

It was over a few beers that Alan asked me how I liked Virginia. I responded with “I love it here — The weather is fantastic, the city is great, the people are nice, and the food and beer are phenomenal! I think I might eventually look for a job here.”

“Would you like to work for us?” Jason asked.

At the time, I laughed and said, “Yea, sure!”

The topic moved on though, and I didn’t think anymore about it … until the next day when I was asked again. In fact, my employment with Kyocera SGS bounced around for the next several months as Alan and Jason wanted to hire me for a very specific job within Kyocera SGS Tech Hub. The job was in two parts: be on-site technical support, to protect and grow business at Rolls Royce while also be a project manager and key contact at CCAM.

This job was needed and would have been difficult to fill easily, if at all.

Luckily, my engineering degree, previous work experience at the AMRC, current work experience with Rolls Royce and CCAM, skills, and connections were all in my favour.

What was not in my favor was the corporate hoops Alan and Jason had to jump through to secure me for the role — Paying for a visa is not a cheap undertaking, so it was not action Kyocera SGS initially expected. Therefore, even though efforts were moving forward, an official job offer not been made so a final decision on my future with Kyocera SGS was unclear.

Meanwhile, I moved closer to the end of my six-months work placement at CCAM. By now, L and I had been dating for around five months, and we had both talked about the different possibilities we may face moving forward.

This included us going into a long-distance international relationship, L moving to England, or (if a job offer came from Kyocera SGS) me staying in America.

Then in mid-December, Jason and I met at a restaurant for an official interview. I remember driving around three hours to get there because it coincided with Jason driving from another state to a Kyocera SGS national sales meeting, which was also in another state. At the restaurant, we discussed the role, the compensation, my qualifications, my experience, and the commitment from Kyocera SGS to support my visa application. In turn, I committed to working for Kyocera SGS for a minimum of a three-year period. The interview went very well as Jason and I had gotten to know each other over the last few months; and we both felt the role was a great fit for me so we were excited for the future! Unfortunately, shortly after the interview my time in Virginia came to an end and I had to move back to England.

A few weeks later over the Christmas and New Year, the go-ahead from Kyocera SGS management finally came and I received my offer letter, which was quickly signed and returned. Although I was ready for my new role, I was sad to leave the AMRC — It had given me a great first full-time job out of university, it had taught me so much, and it had amazing people, many of which became friends. With an exit day set though, plans to work and live in the States were moving forward!

While that was happening, I was working a three-months notice period for the AMRC. In March during this time, I had a week-long work trip back to Virginia to help Kyocera SGS on behalf to the AMRC. This trip also made it convenient to discuss my immigration …

A meeting was held with a Kyocera SGS-hired immigration attorney, his paralegal, Jason, myself, L, and couple other people. The attorney explained how the progress of immigration worked, ways I could immigrate, and what was needed at certain points throughout the process. I was presented with four options — and admittedly, while writing this post and re-checking our work, L and I are finding conflicting information, which reaffirms that immigration to the United States is convoluted and tricky.

It can feel impossible — almost as if the process is made to purposefully trip up immigrants.

Because of this, foreigners stand little chance without a professional immigration attorney.

Saying that, here is what we remember — One option fell into the immigrant visa category and three were in the nonimmigrant category …

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↠ IMMIGRANT VISAS ↞

One option was the reason L was invited — an immigrant visa. Immigrant visas are for immigrants who intend to permanently live, study, or work in America. There are three main subcategories: employer sponsored, other immigrants, and immediate relative and family sponsored.

Employer sponsored is for professional workers. These include E-1 for workers who are a priority and workers of extraordinary abilities, E-2 for advanced degree holders in a specific area, E-3 for skilled and unskilled workers, E-5 for investors, and more, such as C-5, T-5, R-5, I-5, and S.

Other immigrants means special immigrants. These are available for refugees. Special immigrants can also be people who have assisted or worked for the U. S. government in foreign lands, such as a person who worked for the U. S. armed forces during times of war as an interpreter or translator. Visas are often offered as it would be dangerous for the person to remain in his or her own country. Specific visas here can be SI and SQ.

The last is the one the attorney mentioned to me, and that is immediate relative and family sponsored. This can include family who have previously immigrated or were born in the U. S or can include an adoption of a foreign child. There are several types of visas in this category too, including IR-2, CR-2, F-1, F-3, and F-4, amongst others. Please be aware that the number of family members is limited based on the visa — Here is more information on Family Immigration.

My attorney specifically explained the K-1 visa, otherwise known as the ’90-day fiancé visa’ (made popular by The Learning Channel’s “90-Day Fiancé” show). For the K-1 visa, an American sponsors a foreigner, which permits a foreigner to enter the States to marry the American within 90 days of arrival. The K-1 visa lasts for six months, and during that time the foreigner applies for a Green Card to become a permanent resident.

“Wait, wait!” Jason interrupted the attorney. “I don’t want to pressure them into getting married.” Then he turned to us. “You don’t have to get married — This is just one option if you were thinking about getting married.”

In truth I knew I wanted to marry L even though we only knew each other for eight months — We met one month into my six-month work placement when she posted a message on our online apartment community forum asking for someone to hike with her. We instantly became close; and within a few shorts weeks, we were officially dating; and within four months, I had bought an engagement ring during a holiday to New York City with my mum in November. (This ring had stayed with me for five months as I traveled back and forth between England and America waiting for the right time to propose, which means every time I traveled I wore it because I didn’t want to put it in the hold!)

Looking back, L and I both wish we had done the K-1 visa because in the long run we would have saved a large amount of time, effort, and money. At the time, we chose not to go this route because we did not want to have a deadline as to when to get married. L was married previously and did not envision getting married again, though she fancied being engaged for years, if not forever.

(Long story short, for a full list, visit the Immigrant Visa Categories. If unsure of which visa to apply to, use the Visa Wizard. This is a guide that allows a person to set where he or she is from and the reason for travelling to the U. S. before showing applicable visas.)

With an immigrant visa ruled out, we moved onto talking about nonimmigrant visas …

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↠ NONIMMIGRANT VISAS ↞

Nonimmigrant visas are only temporary. They last various lengths of time but not more than three years and lead to other avenues that would be permanent …

My second option was applying for an L-1 visa, which is used for intracompany transfer so a multi-national company could transfer a foreigner to work in the States. To get this, I would get hired by Kyocera SGS in England, work there for one year, then be transferred to Kyocera SGS in America, and work in America permanently. This was not really an option either as Jason and Alan needed someone to ideally start as soon as possible.

The third option was an H-1 B visa, which is for speciality occupations in fields that require highly specialized knowledge. They are for three years and allows the foreigner to both live and work in the U. S. H-1 B visas are also known as ‘the lottery visa’ — This is because the odds of being picked are slim. Every year there are 65,000 H-1 B visas available to foreigners with bachelor’s degrees and 20,000 for foreigners with master’s degrees. This means the American government would issue a maximum of 85,000 H-1 B visas. Looking at the year before, this cap was more than exhausted with over 200,000 people applying before the United States Citizens and Immigration Services closed applications. To make the H-1 B visa even trickier, there are a limited number of spots allocated to specific business roles, such as engineering, medical, sciences, eduction, etc.

According to my attorney, I only had a 33% chance of being selected.

This lead to Option Four: preparing a new B-1 visa. This was the visa I had before so it would only provide six months to stay in the States. Still, it was a low cost option and gave a safety net to keep me in the States if my H-1 B application visa was not successful.

In the end, a two-part approach was planned to maximize my chances of getting into America to work for Kyocera SGS: We would file for an H-1 B visa … while also filing for a B-1 … while I was in America with my existing B-1 visa.

“Once you have been here a few months, we can get you a driver’s license and a social security number,” the attorney said, and it was here Jason and I exchanged rather confused glances at each other.

“Eerrr … You do know I’m going home on Friday right?” It was the end of the day Tuesday.

The attorney seemed more confused than Jason and I. He explained that the application process would move far quicker if I was to stay in the States.

“I’ve only got five pairs of pants!” I told everyone. (Remember Americans, ‘pants’ to the English is ‘underwear.’)

“Well, go to Macy’s or somewhere and get more,” the attorney responded.

“Think it over — You don’t have to make a decision now,” everyone told me.

Eventually our discussions finished and talks of meeting at a local bar for a few beers was planned. L and I headed down a lift (elevator, for Americans) to leave. In the lift, I turned to her and asked, “So … can I move in with you?”

I should note that by now, I did not have a place to live in America because when I moved back to England, my apartment lease ended. I should also point out that L and I had been dating for about eight months so we were suddenly going up many notches! “I’ll pay half the rent, bills, and food” I added in the hopes that the financial assistance might sway her — in case the addition of me permanently in her life wasn’t enough of a bonus.

She didn’t seem too nervous but was more worried I was making a decision too quickly. However, by the time we had reached the ground floor, a decision had been made — I was staying so the next day I went to Macy’s.

Soon after, my immigration lawyer and I also put together a substantial packet of information that included my health, education, employment history, references, and new job details in order to apply for an H-1 B.

I would later learn when submissions for the H-1 B visa opened, my attorney filed my application right away. Just 12 hours later, submissions were closed.

What is also interesting is that Former President Donald Tump actually helped me get my H-1 B visa — As mentioned, there are only a certain number of visas available for specific business roles. There are also only a certain number of visas for specific countries. When Trump was in office, he pushed for more engineering positions … and for more English to be considered.

Months after the application period had closed, I received notification that I was successful in obtaining an H-1 B visa. This was a huge relief, and we no longer needed to pursue the B-1 visa.

Again, I had to return to the U. S. Embassy in London in order to be interviewed and surrender my passport for my new visa to be added.

During my visit to ‘The Big Smoke’ (a nickname for London), I took time to visit the Natural History Museum, which I adore.

Once I got this back in the mail, I was able to schedule a return flight back to the States — It was a long day of traveling, starting with leaving at around 3:00 a.m. (U. K. time) to fly home to Virginia and land at 3:30 p.m. local time (so 8:30 p.m. U. K. time). I was tired but so very happy to see L waiting for me at the airport!

Once settled back in Virginia I was able to get a Social Security number, get a driver’s license, open a bank account, pay for taxes ( … Yay?), and get a car.

My first few years of working for Kyocera SGS were very interesting …

I spent half my time at CCAM, working on several large-scale development projects for both Kyocera SGS and other industry members.

My favorite project was working with NASA on the development of the xEMU space suits for the upcoming Artemis missions.

We developed tooling and methodology for the production of a key part of the suit — a Titanium cooling plate that sits between the astronaut and the life-support system. I even got my picture and work published on NASA’s website!

(Did you know in Greek ‘astronaut’ translates into ‘star sailor’ — Oh my days! In Russian, astronauts are ‘cosmonauts’, which is ‘universe sailors.’)

The other half of my time was spent working at the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe. I worked heavily with other engineers (several who were English!) on productivity improvement projects and new tool implementation. I also kept pesky competitors away from our business!

I also got to make work trips, including heading back to visit Ketema in San Diego. This time I worked with engineers on new tooling implementation.

Back to visas …

While I had an H-1 B, I should note that this visa only grants an immigrant the right to live and work in the States provided the immigrant’s job is on-going so if the recipient loses the job (through being furloughed, made redundant, fired, or quit), the recipient has 90 days to find a new employer willing to take on the additional work and fees of organizing a visa transfer … or the visa becomes invalid and the foreigner has to leave the country.

This is important to mention because COVID was about to change everything. Like thousands of other companies, Kyocera SGS would need to let a number of employees go … and I was one of many who risked losing my job.

If that happened, I would have to move back to England so L and I took steps to ensure we would not be separated.

But that’s for my next post …

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