Escape South Africa

The first country I am going to discuss is your options to work in the USA. This is a tough country to get into and I will mention the visas that I obtained. You have four main options when applying for a visa at your local US embassy:

1) B1/B2
2) J1
3) H1B (leads to a Greencard)
4) L1 (Inter company transfer)

I had the first two visas so here is a breakdown of what they are all about (think of it as a cheatsheet!):

Visa: B1/B2

Visa description: Business/holiday visa

Time taken to obatin visa: One day

Duration of visa: Up to one year

Renewable: Yes but difficult to do

Cost of visa: Don't remember but its maybe a couple of hundred Rand

Restrictions: You can only be in the country for up to 3 months at a time and you cannot take up employment while you are there.

Reasons for getting the visa: You can CONTRACT there provided you are paid back home in your local currency. Great way to experience a new country and decide if you like it. If you are fortunate to work for a company in SA that has branches in the US and they are willing to send you over then this is a good option.

Visa: J1

Visa description: Training Visa

Time take to obatin visa: One day at US Embassy and a week of preparing the supporting paperwork. There is a mountain of paperwork that needs to be submitted with this application just to warn you! You have to prove that you are going to return to SA after your 18mths in the US is up. I did this by showing them proof of my retirement annuity I had (this proves ties to SA), bank statements and gave them a list of friends I had (with physical addresses and cellphone numbers!). You will be interviewed for this visa.

Duration of visa: 18 months

Renewable: No (this is a once off visa)

Cost of visa: $3000 (this included $500 to expedite the application process)

Restrictions: You have to work at the company that sponsored you.

Reasons for getting the visa: This is a GREAT visa to get if you can find a company that is willing to sponsor you. You can earn US dollars and be an employee of a company while there (while receiving all the benefits such as medical and bonus). The really awesome thing about this visa is that you don't have to pay medicare and social security and due to your foreigner status you pay less tax so your nett pay is substantially larger than what Americans would receive.

Resources to assist with obtaining the visa: http://www.aipt.org/

In another blog I will discuss the cost of living in the US and what the taxes are like.