Reply to: Contracting in America

[rurffy]

im actually thinking of working in america at least for 2 years or so.

[pkalluri]

These umbrella companies charge $5k to apply for h1b and its guaranteed but the real issue is to get visa.But if any umbrella company wants to do it for free you need to give utmost promise that you would be given visa in UK and you would definitely move to US and work for them on a paltry pay of 60-70k.

[DeludedAussie]

I have a friend who went with an umbrella company to sponsor her H-1B visa. You have to be in a specialized field (IT, Telcos, engineer, finance) to be sponsored and the catch is that you have to secure your contract first.

Can you sahre how he got his contract and which umbrella this was with please?

Also was this recent or in 2007 when the market was booming

[isabelhunt]

H-1B visa

I have a friend who went with an umbrella company to sponsor her H-1B visa. You have to be in a specialized field (IT, Telcos, engineer, finance) to be sponsored and the catch is that you have to secure your contract first.

[darrenb]

Is there any advantage to contracting in the US? I heard they pay the same taxes. In other words isn't a contractor effectively just a temporary employee.

As a 1099 in the US, I certainly did not pay the same taxes as an employee or see myself as a temp.

However, it boggles my mind that anybody would want to go to the US any more. It is even further down the road of decline than the UK. In fact many of the destructive policies in the UK hurting employment and contracting (on behalf of big business) seem to have been simply copied from the US.

[squarepeg]

12 months of contracting then an L1 transfer

I've been trying to solve that problem myself recently and I was told by the friendly corporate immigration lawyers from the US that the easiest way in would be to either be employed by a US corporation for 12 months while I live in the UK (this can be a perm employment or a contract via a personal service company) then transfer on an L1 visa to the USA where I would be either employed directly by the sponsoring corporation or via the personal service company. Other than that, an O1 visa could be a solution, or if you are a highly paid speaker, even a B1 visa could let you contract as a speaker/lecturer as long as you do not exceed certain limits.

Please ask your lawyer for details, I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV.

[Peter Loew]

There's always 'some' way.

I spent 3 months last year in New York. I decided to take a break from contracting and head over there to stay with a friend, I also wanted work over there. What I did was beef up my CV for the American market, hit sites like dice.com and just fire away and apply for jobs in the usual way.

Sooner or later I started getting calls from agents and employers directly. Btw, I should say at this point that it isn't worth contracting in the States, especially because nobody will sponsor you for such a finite amount of time unless you have an extremely niche skill. They also have very different setups in terms of legal entities than we do here in the UK.

So what happened? Most calls I got wanted me to be already have some kind of legal document that says I can ork in the States, presumably because it's more easily transferable. I didn't of course. However, I did get one call from a consultancy who were willing to interview me and if they liked me start the H1B process for me. But: a) it was a permie job which seemed like a very dull IM PM Role and b) it was based in the sticks in Jersey and I needed a car (no public transport available), and I needed to relocate to this small Jersey town. So I declined.

Looking back, I made the right choice. I'd probably accept a permie role in the states (however dull the role may be) if it was in a decent location, but thinking realistically that particular role it wasn't for me.

While I was there I met a British lawyer lady who basically kept going back to the States on a visa waiver looking for employment. SHe'd been doing this for the past 1.5 years or so. She'll get something eventually.

So my advice is that if you really want to do this, save up enough money to last at least 6 months and go there on the visa waiver. You can even apply for a business/tourist visa which will give you 6 months in the country.

[jamesbrown]

On the first count , sorry - I probably got that wrong. I did reclaim when I did it though, but my situation was, shall we say "Unique".

the link was a follow up to me saying if you cant get a job first, then go in on a working visa and seek sponsorship while you are there. This used to be a valid option but , wanting to move to Canada myself, I know that they've become protectionalist and its probably not the same as it was back in 2000

Yeah, although I'm not familiar with the precise situation in 2000, I do know that many things have changed post 9/11.

[Scoobos]

I doubt anyone would contract in the U.S. for purely financial reasons. The international tax situation is a PITA if you become a U.S. resident for tax purposes and have >10% share in a UK company (even if it doesn't cost you more, ultimately).

BTW, I don't think that link you provided is relevant to the OP in terms of visa requirements (wishing to contract in the U.S.).

On the first count , sorry - I probably got that wrong. I did reclaim when I did it though, but my situation was, shall we say "Unique".

the link was a follow up to me saying if you cant get a job first, then go in on a working visa and seek sponsorship while you are there. This used to be a valid option but , wanting to move to Canada myself, I know that they've become protectionalist and its probably not the same as it was back in 2000

[jamesbrown]

This one, don't believe everything you see on wikipedia. They are a bit expensive if you take their "flight options" , which is the best way of not getting quizzed on the way in.

US Home page | Work Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, Gap Year, Internships and Visa Services

There's a few ways , but go in on a Kamp scheme if you REALLY have to.

Blaster you are right, but everyone pays the same taxes in the US - the real beauty here is that if you've the noggings (which lots of outsiders dont) then you claim all the tax back on your IRS form as you are NOT RESIDENT FOR TAX PURPOSES .

You're supposed to claim that as "foreign income" when you return to the UK though.

I hope this is right, it used to be (many many years ago)

If you're receiving a salary in the U.S., it will be taxed at source, much like PAYE. Residents are taxed on their worldwide income. Non-residents are taxed on their U.S. source income. Personal taxes in the U.S. are generally (significantly) lower than in the UK, after accounting for all the deductions and allowances.

I doubt anyone would contract in the U.S. for purely financial reasons. The international tax situation is a PITA if you become a U.S. resident for tax purposes and have >10% share in a UK company (even if it doesn't cost you more, ultimately).

BTW, I don't think that link you provided is relevant to the OP in terms of visa requirements (wishing to contract in the U.S.).

[Scoobos]

What working holiday visa!?

Wiki: While most developed countries participate in a Working Holiday scheme with a number of foreign partners, the United States does not.

This one, don't believe everything you see on wikipedia. They are a bit expensive if you take their "flight options" , which is the best way of not getting quizzed on the way in.

US Home page | Work Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, Gap Year, Internships and Visa Services

There's a few ways , but go in on a Kamp scheme if you REALLY have to.

Blaster you are right, but everyone pays the same taxes in the US - the real beauty here is that if you've the noggings (which lots of outsiders dont) then you claim all the tax back on your IRS form as you are NOT RESIDENT FOR TAX PURPOSES .

You're supposed to claim that as "foreign income" when you return to the UK though.

I hope this is right, it used to be (many many years ago)

[BlasterBates]

Is there any advantage to contracting in the US? I heard they pay the same taxes. In other words isn't a contractor effectively just a temporary employee.

[Lumiere]

That said, if you are under (I think) 34 then the best option is to take a working holiday visa, get a job and then try and gain sponsorship once you are there and in a job.

What working holiday visa!?

Wiki: While most developed countries participate in a Working Holiday scheme with a number of foreign partners, the United States does not.

[TheFaQQer]

I know of a few people that have done it before - I can ask them about it if you want.

Bear in mind that many American companies view contracting as a path to permiedom, which they will "reward" you with if you are good enough.

[Scoobos]

It's really hard to gain a visa, they are super stringent and its been getting worse over recent years.

That said, if you are under (I think) 34 then the best option is to take a working holiday visa, get a job and then try and gain sponsorship once you are there and in a job.