A Brit’s US Visa Journey: Part 1
The trials and tribulations of building a career in the US.
As I write this, I’m anxiously awaiting the return of my passport from the US embassy in London, which will contain my second H1B visa. This will be my third type of visa during the time I’ve lived in the US
It’s been a long road.
Applying for an F-1 Student Visa
The F-1 visa is designed for international students studying at US universities. I applied for it back in 2014 after I accepted an offer from Brown University, the year I turned 19.
My first F-1 visa paperwork was the least intimidating, because my university was familiar with the process and helped us international students through it.
After gathering the necessary paperwork, I made an appointment at the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London. The day before my appointment date, I received an email that the embassy would now be closed. My parents and I had bus tickets to go up to London from South Wales, but we cancelled and rebooked.
It was intimidating. We arrived at the huge grey-brown building and gawped at the countless armed men outside. We had an 8:15am appointment, and asked a guard where we should go. He pointed to the long line snaking around the courtyard. “Forget your appointment time,” he said, “Everyone has to get in line.”
We got in line. It probably took an hour to get to the entrance, where my mum had to leave me to go in alone. After security, I was assigned a number and took a seat in the huge waiting room.
I got chatting to a lady next to me, who was hoping to get a short-term visa to take her kids to Disney World. I didn’t know at the time that many countries are not eligible for an online ESTA, and have to come in person to the embassy.
The process was fairly seamless, and my F1 visa was granted. Every year of college I received a freshly signed travel document from the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISSS) and travel was quite easy. Those were the days.
Applying for Optional Practical Training
As graduation came closer, I decided to apply for OPT. By far, this was the worst visa experience of all for me.
Optional Practical Training is a great program that gives temporary employment authorization for international students in the United States who are on F-1 student visas so they can gain work experience in their field of study for up to 12 months.
The info sessions about OPT started in my senior spring. It was reassuring to know I’d have the university’s help going through the process, and I really wanted to stay in the US for a year to begin my career. Together with my international advisor, I got all the paperwork in order, and I sent off the processing fee check for $410.00.
We had to provide an address where the EAD card (the work permit) could be delivered, but after graduation I would have no fixed address in the US. So, I put down the address of the university mailroom. I would be subletting a room nearby and the mailroom was secure and well-staffed.
I waited. Then disaster struck. I got the email reporting that the EAD card had been delivered, but was it anywhere to be found? It wasn’t at the mailroom. It wasn’t anywhere. The mailroom staff were lovely and searched high and low for me for days.
I went to the OISSS office to ask for help, and the lady at the front desk, in response to my teary-eyed and shaky recounting of the whole saga, said “Well why on earth did you have it sent here?”
Rarely in my life have I come so close to losing it. I tried to explain calmly that I was an international student, had no family in the US had no fixed address, and truly believed that Brown’s manned mailroom would be the safest place to have the card sent.
I searched for the card hoping it would miraculously turn up. I personally visited every local USPS post office, and Ubered to the main sorting depot downtown. No one had any answers.
I contacted the postmaster general, and she did everything she could for me. I even wrote to and visited my Rhode Island senator to solicit help. Jack Reed, thank you for your assistance, and I do still get your emails.
Eventually USPS issued me with an apology letter to say that they had exhausted their means of finding the mail piece. It was a complete mystery to them. I was never going to find it.
I should have cut my losses and submitted a new application the day the card went missing – it would have saved me a lot of heartache. Is it the responsibility of USCIS if the mail gets lost by USPS? Nope. Do they reimburse you the money when USPS loses your EAD card? Nope. Will they send you a replacement card free of charge? Again, nope.
I submitted the paperwork again and sent off another $410.00. I recognize that I was fortunate to have the means and the time to be able to do this. This time around, it worked, and I safely received the card. After that, I vowed never again.
Finding a job when you need visa sponsorship
After your OPT is granted, you need to find a job. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, finding that first job with a US employer as a non-domestic applicant was difficult. Really difficult.
I accept that I had it easier than most other young international students out there trying to find work. I was a graduate of an Ivy League, I had the means to feed and house myself while I looked for work, and I had parents who supported me. Without those things, getting that first job may have been impossible.
Some kind friends took me in at their apartment in NYC while I was figuring my life out and applying for jobs. Don’t even get me started on trying to rent an apartment in NYC if you’re international!
As far as jobs go for OPT recipients, it can be slim pickings. In those early days, I was struggling to get responses, let alone interviews or offers. Many companies won’t even look at you if you’re a non-domestic applicant. You check the box on the online form to say you need visa sponsorship (now or in the future) and then you can’t submit that application at all.
“I have OPT, so you don’t need to even sponsor me for a year” I explained to employer after employer. I got auto-rejections minutes after applying. I got screened out on the first phone call. I was told “I’m sure that won’t be an issue” only to be unceremoniously ghosted again and again.
For anyone going through the process of trying to find an employer who will sponsor your visa right now, my heart is with you because it’s such a stressful, unstable time.
Whether I agree with it or not, it’s perfectly legal for US employers to discriminate based on immigration status, and I guess I understand why. That doesn't mean it doesn’t suck for all the talented international folks who are trying to build their careers out here.
Stay tuned for Part 2 to read how I eventually secured a job, my experience applying for my first and second H1B visas, and my tips for anyone going through this process.
