How do i find work in the USA??

[ukmare]

I have been working with horses all my life, grooming showing and teaching. I am British Horse Society qualified and have worked in Australia and New Zealand. I am now looking into working in the Equine industry in the USA.
I am not really sure where to start, i do not have any contacts over there in the Equine world. I have tried a few web sites such as yardandgroom but no one seems to respond to me, i have also tried contacting yards via email and telephone and again no replys???
Any suggestions or contacts?

[loshad]

I think one of the problems you are going to run into looking for work over here is that, unless you are very, very well known or a student doing summer work and travel you may have difficulty getting yourself a work visa. Unless people know you, your work ethic, and your riding skills, they are probably going to be reluctant to go through the rather involved process of getting you a visa and getting you over here.

[Equibrit]

http://www.usa.gov/visitors/work.shtml

[ukmare]

yes, i actually have a US tourist visa, and will be coming to the US in September. I no this doesnt allow me to work in the states, but was thinking maybee i could start off doing voluntary work and then if all goes well and i prove myself then someone could take me on? I am even willing to do a working student position then work my way back up.

[loshad]

It is very, very hard to convert a tourist visa to a work visa. The Man tends not to like that sort of thing. Are you a UK citizen? Last I checked, they were on the Visa Waiver program and didn't need one to come here for tourism purposes.

[equineartworks]

I have nothing to offer but when I read your title the first thing that popped into my mind was "If you find out let the 15 million or so know too ok?"

Seriously though, good luck to you. I hope you find the answers you need...this is a great place for the information you need :)

[Ride2Dreams]

Finding work in the US currently is downright hard. Even for Americans, this is probably the worse time to be looking to come here and without connections finding a job as an international student at a "show" barn or a BNT barn is likely going to be impossible due to the amount of working students they take in. That said.... You will likely have luck if you look into racing and resorts. I know Attitash Mountain in NH has trail rides and hires internationally for their equestrian program (lets face it, foreign adds to vacations). Swan Mountain Outfitters in Montana (Glacier National Park STUNNING place to be) also hires nationally and internationally (as well as provides housing) http://swanmountainoutfitters.com/glacier/ and alot of other ski areas (loon mountain in NH as well) have equestrian programs and will offer a full year visa if you work in the horses in summer and on the slopes in winter.

If you want to be here in this economy, hit up the race tracks or resort destinations. Never know, may get a job leading beach rides in Hawaii.

[PhoenixFarm]

I have a dear friend from over seas I desperately wanted to come and run my barn for me.

After consulting with an immigration lawyer I was told to plan on $6-10,000 to get the necessary visa to make her legal here. Far too rich for my blood, and I'm too chicken to hire someone off the books with a tourist visa. I found one of my latest people on yard and groom, but the only overseas folks I responded to are those that stated they already had their work visa to come here.

It's an unfortunate economic truth that most people can't pay to make you legal, and you probably can't either. Sorry. :(

[kookicat]

One small thing, and I'm really not trying to be nasty or nit-picky. If you're emailing people, please check your spelling, grammar and punctuation. From reading your posts in this thread, that was the first thing that came to mind.

Saying that, I'm dealing with applications for a job opening at work right now, so maybe I'm a little over sensitive! ;)

Good luck with your search. I'm sure something will come up!

[ddashaq]

Long time ago, when I was a working pupil in the UK, I recall a lot of the girls talking about something called CampUSA or something along those lines. It was a program that brought people from overseas to the US to work at various camps, and I believe that there was quite a lot of demand from some of the horse camps over here. This was almost 15 years ago so the program may be long since gone, but it might be worth googling. Best of luck to you!:)

[tveley]

I agree with kookiekat. I am currently in the process of hiring a barn manager/maintenance person for our farm and in the last 2 weeks I have received well over 100 applicants for the position (listed on YardAndGroom). Many of the applicants are from other countries.

Most of the applicants are very well qualified to perform the required duties, so I have to use other criteria to narrow the field. There are SO many people looking for work and seeking this job; I can afford to be more selective. If the applicant cannot spell even simple words correctly or use proper grammar, I tend to not put his/her application into the stack of serious candidates. I do make allowances for the language barrier for foreign nationals, but I am referring to the native English speaking applicants (some of those even claiming to have college degrees).

You must present yourself in the best light possible. Although I have received inquiries from some very impressive applicants from abroad, I will probably go with one of the many U.S. citizens who have applied. Not only because is it easier and less expensive, but simply because there are just so many qualified people here in the USA to choose from. Our economy needs all the help it can get!

Good luck to you (and also to all of the applicants I unfortunately will not be hiring).

[tkhawk]

Well I went through the whole immigration process. Came in on a student visa for my graduate, then got a job with a work permit and company sponsored my greencard and finally got my citizenship.

That being said, that was then-the height of the boom- and this is now. They have made visa regualtions rather strict , ask a lot of questions-especially as to why you can't hire an American for the same job etc. USCIS (United states citizenship and immigration services) is pretty strict now-well with the economy and close to double digit unemployment, it is fair.

But I think they do allow work visa for horse trainers. (Not sure what category)I remember reading somewhere about bringing Peruvian trainers for Peruvian horses over on a visa. I am sure if some top notch trainer or even a big barn wanted to bring over a trainer, they would be able to. But someone has to sposnsor you for the visa and bring you over- a good lawyer with a good barn probably still would be possible-even now.


But then there are many different categories which get preferance. For example at one time the US was bringing in nurses by the shipload -with faster track to immigration. Right now if you are in the US I think for at least two years and are a doctor or maybe even finishing med school and willing to join the army for at least I think 4 yrs they give you citizenship in six months. So they always have these schemes going on. They also have something called the diversity lottery-I think they give 50,000 greencards (not sure of the exact no) a year to people from different countries-catch is you have to be from a country with less no of immigrants to US. But you might find a British expat forum and chat and find out all the legal/immigration stuff...

[IsolaBella09]

Yardandgroom.com always has jobs available. Try contacting some trainers in the are you will be living in.

[Ride2Dreams]

Also check out http://www.ciee.org/

That is.. If you are not picky about being in a horse position or not

[Dispatcher]

You can't. Resident Americans can't even find jobs.

[ukmare]

Thank you for all the advice and replys, much appreciated.
The search continues...

[HelloAgain]

I think you might have a shot through the J-1 visa, subcategory "Trainee" subcategory "Agricultural."
http://exchanges.state.gov/jexchanges/programs/trainee.html

CIEE is a certified J-1 sponsor, so definitely check out their trainee exchange prorgrams.
http://www.ciee.org/trainee/applicants/1_program_eligibility.asp

This is by no means a simple process. But it is not a good idea to overstay or violate a tourist visa. You could get barred from the U.S. for 3 or 10 years.

[J-Lu]

My suggestion is to be very persistent if you want to get a position in the US. Email everyone and expect a very small return on your time. Times are very tight for Americans, but there are some people who want the "prestige" of a European trainer over an American trainer.

As far as your visa goes, it is not too difficult to get but you need someone with alot of money willing to hire good lawyers and sponsor you. The financial bar is what makes it difficult.

If you have only a tourist visa, you have to be careful. A friend of mine in your situation was working for a barn on a tourist visa but was caught coming back to the US. She kept "visiting" the same town for 3 month periods. Immigration people are not stupid and denied her entry. She was ultimately sponsored for a work visa but it was very costly.

You have little to lose by being persistant but time. If you really want to come to the US, you can find a way.

[Milocalwinnings]

One small thing, and I'm really not trying to be nasty or nit-picky. If you're emailing people, please check your spelling, grammar and punctuation. From reading your posts in this thread, that was the first thing that came to mind.

Saying that, I'm dealing with applications for a job opening at work right now, so maybe I'm a little over sensitive! ;)

Good luck with your search. I'm sure something will come up!

Yes! I thought the same thing, but didn't want to sound nasty by bringing it up. You want to look professional to prospective employers. If you email them in the same fashion that you posted on here, you're making yourself look and sound unprofessional and they will be even less inclined to hire you.

Just a suggestion.

[Coreene]

Absolutely. Advice given before OP's second post, but not taken.

[Donkey]

Develop some American contacts from the UK. Find some Yankee ex-pats and work for them they may have the connections you need to get a decent job set up across the pond.

[specialmare]

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