America is famous for being a place where people of different countries come to seek better employment opportunities and live a better life. Skilled immigrants can find jobs in various sectors, and are paid fairly good salaries, and they get the opportunity to work for some of the best companies in the world.
However, for an immigrant, getting a job in the U.S remains a challenge thanks to the laws governing immigration and the type and number of visas available for use when seeking a job.
In this article, we will learn about the need for immigrant professionals in the USA, places of employment, types of visa and the procedures to follow to get a job.
The Demand for Skilled Immigrants
The American economy is based on innovation, and most industries require professional employees to perform core functions. Over the past few years, more states of the US have called for skilled immigrants based on the shortage of workers especially within the country’s expanding technology, health, and engineering industries. These emerging fields require talented workforce and employers look for this human resource from across the world. There is no one better than skilled foreigners who come with innovation and a new way of doing things irrespective of the experience they had in their home countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to changes in the sphere of work as social activities: many companies changed to distance work. This has helped provide more opportunities for skill immigrants to apply for jobs without having to wait for them to come to the US for them to do so.
Furthermore, the absence of youths in the workforce meant that sectors such as health technological and engineering amongst others need the youthful and energetic generation that will help foster their growth and sustenance.
Popular Job Sectors for Skilled Immigrants
Currently, there are many industries in the United States that are in constant lookout for skilled immigrants to take up various positions within the country. Some of the most popular job sectors include:
Technology
Tech industry has been established in the United States as being very competitive thanks to well-known companies such Google, Apple, Microsoft and others that are running around looking for professional workers. Professionals like software developers, data scientist, cybersecurity analyst, and AI engineer is on a high demand.
Healthcare
Healthcare is also one of the sectors that require workforce availability and additional number of skilled workforce. Medical practitioners, administrators, dealers of drugs, and medical researchers are crucial in the development of the healthcare sector primarily because of growth in the number of baby boomers in the United States.
Engineering
Various specialists such as civil, mechanical, electrical, and software engineers are required in construction, energy, manufacturing, and aerospace sectors.
The United States is recognized as a country that has a rich history of engineering advancements and various qualified immigrants are employed on particular and complex developments.
Finance
The occupations that seem to be sought most often include financial analysts, accountants, and investment managers with the interest expressed in areas such as New York and San Francisco. The USA financial market is one of the biggest globally, and talented people can create a successful career there.
Education and Research
There is always competition for talented professors, researchers and other academic professionals in universities and research institutions in the United States. The mobility of skilled immigrants can be a great asset in furthering the scientific knowledge, teaching, and development of this field.
Visa Options for Skilled Immigrants
If you want to become a skilled worker in the United States as an immigrant, then you must secure the proper visa. Today there exists many different types of visas for the employment of skilled workers. These are:
- H-1B Visa: This is one of the most preferred visa types of the skilled worker employees in the United Kingdom particularly within the technology field. It helps the establishment of the United States when it comes to grabbing work force from other countries with expertise in the fields such as information technology, engineering, and others in the health care industry. The visa holders are given it for a period of three years renewable.
- O-1 Visa: This visa is for those foreigners who has sought after skills or ability in field like, science, education, business, art, et cetera. This category is ideal for immigrants with efficiency in their respective fields as illustrated by their performances.
- L-1 Visa: The L-1 visa is a working visa for employees who are being transferred to the United States to work for a branch or subsidiary of the same company they previously worked for in their home country. This is good for the skilled immigrants employment in the global organizations that have branch offices in the U.S.
- EB-2 and EB-3 Green Cards: These immigration-based green cards are a limited number, offered to people with a job offer mainly professionals, those who have a master’s or a doctorate or possess an exceptional skill. EB-2 visa is usually for individuals involving in an employee capacity at a professional level, while the EB-3 visa is for people having a bachelor or masters degree or deep skill personnel with experience.
Steps to Secure a Job in the USA
Finding a job in the U.S being a skilled immigrant is never easy, but it all takes various processes and planning. This is what you should do:
- Research the Job Market: A good starting point is to identify the sectors or firms that are currently in the process of hiring qualified immigrants. You must find a job in line with your expertise.
- Update Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile: Make sure your resume is in compliance with USA job requirements. Emphasize your skills, past experiences, and accomplishments. LinkedIn can also be used to search for recruiters and other potential employers with whom you might like to work with.
- Apply for Jobs: Application methods include online job portals, corporate websites, and using an affiliated professional social sites. You can also hire the services of recruitment agencies that will place immigrants with skills in American firms.
- Network: Networking meet ups, conventions and online job fairs is a good way to come face to face with people in the same line of work. One of the advantages of a network is that it tends to be useful in the search for jobs.
- Prepare for Interviews: Look for the typical interview questions and rehearse the answers . It is always good to be prepared to sell yourself and your ability in relation to an advertised position.
- Secure a Visa: After you have got a job offer, connect with your employer to apply for that specific visa. Always ensure that you fulfill the legal requirements to working in the United States of America.
Conclusion
The United States remains one of the most popular countries of choice for skilled immigrants through seeking better and superior jobs offerings. It also has abundant of opportunity in vocational sectors that include the technologies, medical services, and engineering industries.
Thus, skilled immigrants being aware of the possibility of obtaining the visa and following the correct process, may find employment in the USA and become the useful addition to the workforce.
We wish you good luck!
