US Employer Discrimination for K-1 Holders?

[AlyssaM 1]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any trouble getting their husband or wife a job in the US once they were married and applied for the EAD.

Is there any reason to worry about employers showing hesitancy in hiring a new immigrant, especially one not educated in the US?

I know there are certain jobs only open to citizens because of security issues, but I wanted to see if anyone had any feedback. Any information is appreciated!

[baron555 934]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any trouble getting their husband or wife a job in the US once they were married and applied for the EAD.

Is there any reason to worry about employers showing hesitancy in hiring a new immigrant, especially one not educated in the US?

I know there are certain jobs only open to citizens because of security issues, but I wanted to see if anyone had any feedback. Any information is appreciated!

Knowledge of the English language is a big issue and holdback.

Knowledge of any skill where that skill is in demand is a big plus......no knowledge places them in the same queue as all the other non-skilled workers, citizens, legals and illegals.

Virtually any advance education must be supplemented with additional education and certification here as most is not 100% recognized here.

[Robert&Karen 264]

My fiancee says she can work at the local British Pub (she used to own her own restaurant in Scotland) and set them straight on being British. Her accent may also be a strong plus. There are times like this when you can use your culture to your advantage. America has stereotyped many cultures both positively and negatively. I say take advantage of it as much as you can. With a French background you can be a very highly paid wine steward in a fine restaurant. I don't care if you hate wine, Americans think the French are the experts. Find your niche.

[NoneYa 73]

My finance is pretty good in English but only 80%. I told her before I filed that I would want her to stay home and study English for 3-6 months or more. I will teach her, read to her, or get her a tutor, what ever it takes to perfect her English.She agreed with me and liked the idea so I filed for the K-1. It was mandatory for me because I knew it would be a road block for her eventually in life.

It is true that without proper English, you will be held back and loose out on many jobs that require communication skills. Employers wil hire you for the better jobs if your English is good. I don't think anybody can tell you whether YOU will get a job. I hire people and I would get 200 applications for every job but only 3% qualify with skills worth interviewing.

Just learn English really well. Make that your number one priority and you will get job offers. You will get them before then too but it will be harder if Americans ask you to repeat all the time.

You can find something if working just anywhere is your goal but if you want to get job offers... speak really good English and that will open many doors for you. Good luck.

Edited September 28, 2011 by DaleFlorida

[AlyssaM 1]

I appreciate your responses. My fiance has a degree in computer science and his English is very good. I know that this field is highly sought after nowadays, and I know that employers hire foreigners for computer positions. However, many of these people are US educated it seems. I was just wondering if anyone had heard of people being wary of hiring a new immigrant, especially in today's market.

Thanks everyone.

P.S. I will consider that wine steward idea!

[Krikit 1,164]

Moving from K-1 Process to Finding Work in America.

[skiptex 225]

my better half is a dentist in Venezuela.. i am going to about her getting Dentist assistant jobs.. several on craigslist said that spanish is PLUS!! hopefully it be easy for her to find something!!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I appreciate your responses. My fiance has a degree in computer science and his English is very good. I know that this field is highly sought after nowadays, and I know that employers hire foreigners for computer positions. However, many of these people are US educated it seems. I was just wondering if anyone had heard of people being wary of hiring a new immigrant, especially in today's market.

The IT Job Market isn't what it was just 5 short years ago, there are a lot of unemployed Programmers, Network Administrators and Hardware Techs. He'll need to have something that distinguishes him from the other applicants. I've been in the field for almost 20 years (the last 15 at my current employer), I know guys with my level of experience who are having trouble landing another IT job.

He should be prepared to take something in an unrelated field while he searches for an IT job. A good example of this is a couple of guys at my office who originally were hired in the Call Center to work on the phones and applied to our IT department when positions opened.

Edited September 28, 2011 by Bob 4 Anna

[sorchaine 10]

The only trouble my husband had when applying for jobs was that since he didn't have any US education in his previous field of study, he went with "easy" jobs for like entry level position types. Most of the time though they never called him back or would tell him up front that he was overqualified for the position. He did end up finding one pretty easily that was looking for someone who had the same previous experience he had (from Brazil) as well as being bilingual in both English and Portuguese, so it worked out perfectly for him. As for the immigrant status thing, he never had any problem with it. He didn't feel as though he was treated any differently or anything for having an EAD. They just wanted to make sure he was legal with his EAD or Green Card that's all they seemed to care about.

Edited September 29, 2011 by sorchaine

[monyfer 27]

My future hubby works for a large multinational consumer products company in his home country (that is a US based corp). So, even though his education is outside the US, the great thing is he has a company name on his resume that people will automatically recognize. Hopefully it will be pretty easy to get a job in the same field or same company here =) *crosses fingers* I know nothing is ever easy, but it might give him a leg up, anyway.

Edited October 1, 2011 by monyfer

[Nina~ 431]

I appreciate your responses. My fiance has a degree in computer science and his English is very good. I know that this field is highly sought after nowadays, and I know that employers hire foreigners for computer positions. However, many of these people are US educated it seems. I was just wondering if anyone had heard of people being wary of hiring a new immigrant, especially in today's market.

Thanks everyone.

P.S. I will consider that wine steward idea!

My husband (USC) has a degree in Computer Science too. He works for a company owned by a French Citizen and more than half of his coworkers are French who got their degree outside the US. There is plenty of demand for programmers and he can easily find a job. There are plenty of oil companies here in Houston that specifically look for French speaking software workers. But it will be hard for your husband to find a job if he is fresh out of college and no experience.

Word of advice: Do not let your husband settle for the first job he gets. If you make enough money to support the both of you, then let him network and find better opportunities than working as a wine steward or something that he does not enjoy.

[AlyssaM 1]

My husband (USC) has a degree in Computer Science too. He works for a company owned by a French Citizen and more than half of his coworkers are French who got their degree outside the US. There is plenty of demand for programmers and he can easily find a job. There are plenty of oil companies here in Houston that specifically look for French speaking software workers. But it will be hard for your husband to find a job if he is fresh out of college and no experience.

Word of advice: Do not let your husband settle for the first job he gets. If you make enough money to support the both of you, then let him network and find better opportunities than working as a wine steward or something that he does not enjoy.

Thanks. My fiance has interned and does have about 3-4 years of experience. Didn't know there were oil companies like that which were seeking French speakers, I appreciate the tip. I live in CA with the crazy unemployment rate, so maybe getting out of this state would help!

[Nina~ 431]

Thanks. My fiance has interned and does have about 3-4 years of experience. Didn't know there were oil companies like that which were seeking French speakers, I appreciate the tip. I live in CA with the crazy unemployment rate, so maybe getting out of this state would help!

Total S.A and Technip are a couple of large French companies that have offices in Houston. I am sure other companies like BP, Transocean, etc would be interested in hiring native French speakers especially with all the drill/exploration going on in West Africa right now. If your husband knows Portuguese, that is even more of an advantage.

If you live anywhere near the Silicon valley then I would think your husband would find more unique opportunities that are not limited to the oil industry. There are plenty of new start-ups there always looking to hire. Also, 3-4 years experience in the software industry is considered mid-career. So he won't have too much trouble finding a job.

[Eddyy 5]

My future hubby works for a large multinational consumer products company in his home country (that is a US based corp). So, even though his education is outside the US, the great thing is he has a company name on his resume that people will automatically recognize. Hopefully it will be pretty easy to get a job in the same field or same company here =) *crosses fingers* I know nothing is ever easy, but it might give him a leg up, anyway.

I agree. I gained my education outside of the USA but I worked for a multinational US company so nobody even cares about my education. They care if I have a BA and if I have the appropriate experience...

My advice is don't worry too much, start applying for job, tailor your resume for each job, get in touch with recruiters and hope for the best...

Hope it helps...

[brian_n_phuong 193]

I know this isnt the most glamourous job, but many immigrants in my area work for international reservation centers such as Hertz, Avis, Hilton, etc...

Any corporation that is reservation based, and has an international footprint will require native speakers of many languages!

Many of these jobs are full time, full benefits, and pretty decent pay. They do require odd hours to conform with the

home countries hours, but that shouldnt be a deal killer.