Appling for first job in US

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I've been putting it on my cover letters. Like Texanadian said, it's more of a reassurance to them that you are indeed legally able to work in the U.S. Maybe legally "they are not allowed to ask" about your status, but in practical terms, if an HR person or manager has thirty resumes in front of him, he's going to put aside ones that look iffy...and having nothing but foreign qualifications WILL look iffy.

I'd rather be open about it right up front on my cover letter. Just a quick blurb about being a permanent resident and legally able to work in the U.S. is more than enough.

[Texanadian 10]

I simply applied on Hospital websites "career" sections. Eventually got a job with one. I'm a kitchen guy. But applying for radiology would be the same process. I do know what you mean about ARRT certification. Seems that most (but not all) radiology jobs want that in order to hire.

HI.how do u apply in hospital are u a nurse?im a radiologic technologist from my country but sad to say i cant work here in US coz i need to go back to school again for a month to be able to sit for the American registry of radiologic tech liscense.

[Badgerella 5]

Since all I could show were 13+ years of work experience OUTSIDE of the US, it only made sense to me to state that I was legally allowed to work in the States. Since I also had my green card at the moment, I stated I was a LPR as well.

Judging by the number of applications sent, as well as interviews attended, I am fairly sure that disclosing this information did not negatively affect my job search.

I am now employed, too, after about a month and a half of looking.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

If applying for a job in the US, you:

1) don't state that you are member of a religious sect,

2) watch dirty movies,

3) are an immigrant, fresh off the boat.

Basically, you want to come over as "normal" as possible.

So the answer to your question is, HELL no!

[Empress of Groovy 373]

I see this thread is a few months old but thought I'd add that my husband included something like "Please note that I am authorized to work in the United States" at the bottom of his resume when he was first looking for a job. All his previous employment was in the UK, so we figured it made sense to remove any doubt about his authorization. He found a job fairly quickly. His current resume doesn't include this info because he now has several years of work experience in the U.S.

Filling out an I-9 typically comes toward the end of the hiring process unless you're signing on with an employment agency. For this reason, I think it's important to let potential employers know up front that you're not a visitor who is trying to get employment sponsorship (a lot of those folks are out there).

There are many questions that a potential employer cannot legally ask; whether a person is authorized to work in the U.S. isn't one of them.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Yeah...as I mentioned six weeks ago, I DO have a statement in my cover letters to avoid unnecessary questions. It reads thus:

Please note that while most of my employment and education history has been in Canada, I am currently a legal permanent resident of the United States, residing in Alexandria, and fully authorized and able to work in this country.

Again, despite what others have said on this thread, the foreign work experience WILL raise the question...to the point where many employers won't waste the time on granting an interview if there's uncertainty about an applicant's legal status. Even if it were "illegal" to discriminate based on something like that, try putting that law in practice. You just can't do it. A statement like the one above can reassure an employer, and it's NOT going to hurt. I've been residing in the U.S. for less than three weeks and I've already had a job interview (with my references being called) for a fairly significant position...and that statement was in my cover letter. There was a bit of chit-chat about what caused me to move down here, and in my mind that's perfectly valid.

[NotworkSte 19]

This is a great topic, and something I struggled to decide what to do personally.

Now I am a little better informed of the law, and that I am actually working here, I removed all traces of anything to do with permission to work here or that I am an immigrant. Since my current role is based here, it's sitting right their on the resume. However prior to my first role, I specifically stated

"I am a legal permanent resident and do not need sponsorship to work in the United States".

Why?

Because there was nothing on the resume that would inform the recruiters I was actually here. Sure I had an address and a phone number, but nothing solid. My education and my jobs were all in the UK. With recruiters giving a resume, I dunno, 20 seconds glance, it's easy to make an assumption someone may need sponsorship. Not right I know, but in Fl, where you can have hundreds of apps for every position, it's easy for them to rule a lot of people out for any reason and it not come across as "discriminatory" Exactly same as why my resume got binned for not having the keyword CCNA, yet I had 12 years deep network experience.

So, I did decide to put it there, for a very specific reason - even though it was not strictly needed. Soon as I got my first role and listed that on the resume, any trace of it came right back off.

[Spoom 8]

I would feel absolutely fine putting my work authorization status on my resume, because it is illegal... lemme just kick that up a notch... illegal to discriminate based on citizenship, immigration status (beyond work authorization), or national origin.

Citizenship Status Discrimination

Citizenship or immigration status discrimination occurs when an employer treats employees differently based on their citizenship or immigration status in regard to hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee. U.S. citizens, recent permanent residents, temporary residents under the IRCA legalization program, asylees, and refugees are protected. An employer must treat all of these groups the same. Subject to limited exceptions, the INA’s provision against citizenship or immigration status discrimination covers employers with 4 or more employees.

National Origin Discrimination

This form of discrimination occurs when an employer treats employees differently based on their national origin in regard to hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee. An employee’s national origin relates to the employee’s place of birth, country of origin, ancestry, native language, accent, or because he or she is perceived as looking or sounding “foreign.” All work-authorized individuals are protected from national origin discrimination. The INA’s provision against national origin discrimination generally covers employers with 4 to 14 employees.

(From USCIS M-274 Handbook for Employers [PDF])

If an employer dumps your resume because you're not an American citizen, USCIS wants to know about it. Most reputable HR departments know about this; it's the shady businesses that'll have a problem with your status, and you probably don't want to work for them anyway.

I do think that all that's necessary is a small statement saying something to the effect of "I am fully authorized to work in the United States and will continue to be for the foreseeable future." They don't need to know your whole story, just that they're not wasting time with an interview that will result in the I-9 process finding out you can't work for them anyway.

[Mestis 1]

Thinking of the sentence here : U.S. citizens, recent permanent residents, temporary residents under the IRCA legalization program, asylees, and refugees are protected

A compagny can ask you if you can work in the US without sponsorship. What is illegal is ask if someone is a USC or a LPR, and if the employer would rather hire the USC instead of the LPR (unless security clearance is involved)