any chance for new FSA in Europe to move to USA?

[wahrscheinlich]

Hi everyone, let me describe my background first

I am originally from HongKong. I am ASA and CERA with 3 yrs of exp and I just submitted my DMAC. If meets min req then I shall be sitting FAC this August. I work in an insurance company in Europe(not uk) and my pay is honestly just like any other employee(technical accountant, secretary, HRM, auditors etc etc) in the company. sounds kind of socialist to me. I enquired before and confirmed its true, and in this company there is no salary increment per exam, and they sort of ensure me that it is the same case of all companies in this country. So that's it. I should be planning to move to another country, seeking for a better life and USA is really top of my list, not just money-wise, its my personal preference.

In any case i need the company to sponsor my visa as I don't hold green card. Is that also very difficult for new FSA?

I speak also another European language and Chinese and Cantonese. I am meanwhile doing CFA level II, just trying to do whatever to be more competitive.

Can anyone comment on my likelihood of getting a job in USA? And what should I do?

Feel free to pm me for your kind advice.

[fallaway]

Originally Posted by wahrscheinlich

Hi everyone, let me describe my background first

I am originally from HongKong. I am ASA and CERA with 3 yrs of exp and I just submitted my DMAC. If meets min req then I shall be sitting FAC this August. I work in an insurance company in Europe(not uk) and my pay is honestly just like any other employee(technical accountant, secretary, HRM, auditors etc etc) in the company. sounds kind of socialist to me. I enquired before and confirmed its true, and in this company there is no salary increment per exam, and they sort of ensure me that it is the same case of all companies in this country. So that's it. I should be planning to move to another country, seeking for a better life and USA is really top of my list, not just money-wise, its my personal preference.

In any case i need the company to sponsor my visa as I don't hold green card. Is that also very difficult for new FSA?

I speak also another European language and Chinese and Cantonese. I am meanwhile doing CFA level II, just trying to do whatever to be more competitive.

Can anyone comment on my likelihood of getting a job in USA? And what should I do?

Feel free to pm me for your kind advice.

It is pretty difficult if you want go via the route of H1B visa, since the filing starts in April and it doesn't become effective until October. So if a company hires you now, they will have to wait for nearly 5 months before you can start working for them. If you check this year's stats, the quota of H1B is reaching its limit pretty quickly, some say by the end of this month or next month there will be no more quota left, which means, if you don't have your H1B process started soon, you will have to wait till next April to file. The only way to avoid the H1B issue: you work for a multi-national company and the company sends you to work in its US division on a executive role, then you will be on a different type of visa that doesn't have the limit of quota

So, sorry to disappoint you by telling you the truth: the likelihood is next to none. Have you considered Canada? the visa process is much friendlier than the US, they pay may not be as good as in the US, but if you become a Canadian citizen during your time there, you can easily come to the US to work on a TN visa

[wahrscheinlich]

Thanks for your information. Though it is a bit disappointing...

And it is very unlikely for a company to hire someone and wait for another 5 months before he joins and starts working?

[Enough Exams Already]

Originally Posted by wahrscheinlich

Thanks for your information. Though it is a bit disappointing...

And it is very unlikely for a company to hire someone and wait for another 5 months before he joins and starts working?

That depends on what you have to offer and what they need. For example, if you were a senior executive with experience in building a line of business that a company wanted to break into, they would probably wait. Or if you had lots of deep, techinical experience in building hedging programs, and the company wanted to build or retrofit a hedging program, they might wait five months. But a lower-level manager or a generic new FSA without especially useful experience...they can get such people sooner from the local/US market. And without the expense or hassle of H1B visa sponsorship.

[wahrscheinlich]

So can I conclude that a newly qualified FSA living abroad has almost no chance to work in USA?
(unless
1. you plan it several years beforehand, i.e. obtain a Canadian citizenship as discussed above
2. you are an executive in a multinational company with offices in USA?)

it looks really tough... who once says Actuaries are on high demand...

[Oriental]

This may be of interest:

http://www.theactuaryjobs.com/job/47...d-actuary-usa/

I've seen a job from this recruiter where they were specific about sponsoring for H1B.

BTW it is lot easier to get H1B if you're a low skilled IT monkey rather than passing difficult actuarial exams

[wahrscheinlich]

this probably is another dumb idea but i would still seek your comment on this.

as i will be in North America attending FAC this year, I plan to make a trip to say, New York. Do you think if it is possible to arrange some sort of Interviews or similar "knowing-each-other" networking event. They may have no vacancy at the moment but at least they can have my resume then in their database and have at least an impression about who I am.

Then maybe I can formally apply next march and if things go smooth i can get H1B starts in April and start working in Oct?

Sorry as it is just my wild thought. But honestly I think as for now I know nobody and everything is impossible.

I really want to try out a career/life in US. And I am totally staggered to find it getting ridiculously difficult.

[Colonel Smoothie]

Hmmmm I'm not so sure if you would find the US as awesome as you think it is.

Don't you have cool things like free healthcare in your country?

[wahrscheinlich]

actually there are also some personal reasons supporting me to go to US.

Free healthcare comes with a hefty deduction from my salary to support those homeless to get free healthcare as well.

[Locrian]

Originally Posted by wahrscheinlich

Free healthcare comes with a hefty deduction from my salary to support those homeless to get free healthcare as well.

There's some of that here now. In 19 months, there will be a lot of that here.