UK citizen wishing to emigrate to USA and obtain employment with US Government

[ToTo Man]

Hello everyone. I'm a newbie to the forum.

I have recently graduated from university in Scotland UK with a First Class BA Honours Degree in Accounting & Finance but am having tremendous difficulty sourcing graduate employment in the UK private sector. This is partly due to the current downturn, however I also have a physical disability and speech impediment and feel this is putting me at a major disadvantage too.

It has always been a dream to emigrate to the states, and an American pen-pal has advised that my best chance of sourcing a job and being "looked after" over there (i.e. not discriminated against because of my disability) is to work for the US Government. I was wondering what your thoughts are on this? Are non-US citizens allowed to work for the US government?

Also, does anyone know how the job grading/classification system works in the US? I'm having difficulty finding out what the equivalent level of qualification my UK degree is in the US, and what positions this would qualify me for. Is there a website that gives such conversions?

There is also the added complication that my parents would need to emigrate with me. Would they be permitted to accompany me even if they didn't have jobs lined up over there? Would I be entitled to bring them in as my carers? (Due to my disability I do depend on them for daily physical assistance).

I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and thank you in advance for your responses.

[Fatbrit]

Hi and welcome.

Unfortunately, your pen-pal friend knows little about US immigration. Your chances of securing a suitable immigration status directly through your current qualifications and experience as described are very, very slim, and with the government are zero. Your best hope if you want to come to the US is to work with an international company in the UK which has offices in both countries and a track record of transferring employees.

Your parents would not be on your ticket but would have to either find their own immigration path here or wait many years until you could naturalize as a US citizen and sponsor them.

[synthia]

Do you really think that the US government regularly brings people over from other countries in preference to hiring its own citizens? Now, if you were the top person in the world in, say, astrophysics and we really wanted you for a project at NASA, you might have a chance. But the US government hires citizens and permanent residents, and so does every other level of government.

People with MBAs from places like Harvard, Stanford, and the Wharton School of Finance and years of experience have lost there jobs as the big financial institutions either have gone under (Lehman Brothers) or retrenched (everyone else). Your degree, no matter how well you did, will carry no weight.

If you want to leave the UK, you should try Canada, Australia, or maybe New Zealand, where you will probably have enough points to emigrate without needing to have a job first. Whether you can get a job in the current economy is another thing entirely.

Also, no country is going to allow you to bring your parents along. You would only be allowed to bring a spouse (or partner in some countries) and children under a certain age limit. In the US, the child must be 18 or younger, and upon turning 19 must qualify for a visa separately or go back.

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

It has always been a dream to emigrate to the states, and an American pen-pal has advised that my best chance of sourcing a job and being "looked after" over there (i.e. not discriminated against because of my disability) is to work for the US Government. I was wondering what your thoughts are on this? Are non-US citizens allowed to work for the US government?

The other folk have already given you the bad news. But I'm really curious to know what your American pen-pal was thinking of with regard to being "looked after" with a disability.

The situation in the US is pretty grim for those with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Health insurance can be difficult to impossible to get, and what is available is horrifically expensive for those with "pre-existing conditions" of any sort. Neither insurance nor the government pays much (if anything) toward carers or long-term assistance. Most employer-based plans will make you wait a year or two before covering anything related to your "pre-existing condition" and although discrimination against the handicapped is against the law, most employers would shy away from hiring someone guaranteed to increase their health care premiums.

Perhaps your penpal knows of some case where an employee was injured on the job and thus hit the jackpot in workers' comp claims or some such thing, but for someone with a serious disability, I'd say you are far better off in a country with a decent national health care system.
Cheers,
Bev

[synthia]

I know someone who is in a wheelchair as the result of a shooting. He is on full disability, and gets a total of just over $700 US per month to live on. I don't call that being 'looked after'.

If you are able to work, an employer is required to make 'reasonable accomodation' for your disability. However, you must be able to fulfill the requirements of the job. I've known severely disabled people who have been let go because after all reasonable adjustments were made, the person could still not perform at the level of everyone else doing the job.

Also, even if your parents could qualify to come to the US, if they are not working they will not have medical insurance. It costs about $100 to just walk into a doctor's office for an appointment, so that would be critical. You could not carry them on your medical insurance.

But that would be if you actually got a job and a visa.

[Tiffani]

As i understand it, the salaries and benefits of US government employees are pretty good.

But again, there's that tetchy problem of having to be an American citizen or LPR....

[Hound Dog]

After we got married my husband decided we should join the Peace corps. He applied and was accepted but we were rejected as a couple as I was not a US Citizen. I believe you have to be a US Citizen to work for the US Government . I was not allowed to join although my husband had applied to go to French speaking African country and I could have brought in more than many US Citizens: go figure.

[frenchie]

When you mentioned government, you are most likely referring to federal. All federal jobs requires us citizenship.
If you are thinking about state and counties jobs, they will NOT sponsor for a work visa. They expect you to already be authorized to work.

Sorry.

[ToTo Man]

Thank you for your replies. To follow up on a few comments:

Regarding health care / insurance, my condition does not require me to seek medical treatment. In fact I'm lucky if I visit my local doctor once a year, and that's usually just for antibiotics for a winter virus. My health is good (touch wood) and if I secure the level of job that I'm expecting to secure then bills for health care and insurance for my parents hopefully would not be an issue. Both my parents would be seeking jobs in the first instance, although the criticalness of this would depend on the level of job I was able to secure.

Regarding reasonable adjustments, the only reasonable adjustments I would require is to be allowed to use email as the main method of communication as apposed to telephone (I have a speech impediment), and that the office I worked in was accessible by lift (though I would make the assumption that most offices are now accessible by lift). In summer 2007 I completed an 8-week summer internship with one of the top 4 investment banks and demonstrated that I was able to fulfil the requirements of the role equally as good if not better than many of my colleagues, but the speech impediment thing seems to raise issues with employers.

FWIW - My mother has a cousin who lives in New Jersey whose parents emigrated there from Ireland several decades ago. She currently works for what I guess would be called the state government (we would call it the local council here in the UK), but then again as she was born in the US she will be a fully fledged US citizen....

[twostep]

Let me be frank - why would an employer sponsor you with just a BA, some work experience in the UK system, physical problems affecting performance (lift, voice ...), hope that you pass the H1 lottery and then wait from April to October for you to show up?

Very good back-office staff particularly in finance/accounting has been laid off throughout the last year and is not only looking but willing to relocate, trained in US system, able to work immediately.

Use your own judgement.

Your parents are on their own. They have to secure their own visas.