The Usa Past And Present
The Present
While the United States continues to open its door wide to refugees, the invitation does not extend to all comers. America, in common with most other countries, now places restrictions on immigration. The authorities are keen to protect the jobs of American citizens, and as a consequence employers are not allowed to offer jobs to outsiders (‘aliens’) if there is an American who can do the job just as well. So if you wish to take up employment you need to apply for a visa, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it will be granted.
For many immigrant categories a quota system is in operation, and when the annual quota is reached, applications in the pipeline are held over to the next fiscal year, often resulting in long waits. Yet currently there seem to be plenty of jobs to go around – particularly in the hi-tech industries
and nursing – and employers are keen to have quota levels raised.
Interestingly enough, the United States is attracting over a million immigrants a year – a greater number than at any time in its history. Nearly eleven million newcomers have made their home here during the past decade – nearly twice as many as in the 1980s and almost three times as many as in the 1970s. The reasons are not hard to find. Many of its industries are the leaders in their particular field and so are its academic institutions. It remains one of the world’s leading economies, politically it is the most powerful country on earth and it is a trendsetter in many ways. American commercial interests span the globe and our business culture is strongly influenced by them.
For natives of the UK and Ireland there is a special benefit: it is a home from home – almost. Americans speak English – more or less – whatever George Bernard Shaw might say; American law has its roots in English law; Americans think in terms of pounds, miles, feet and inches; the food is familiar even if chips are called ‘French fries’; the natives are hospitable and it is a ‘swell’ place to visit.
Why Work In The Usa?
People hoping to work in the United States need to be clear from the start what they hope to gain from the experience. Your motives will often determine the kind of visa you apply for, and during the course of the application procedure you may well need to spell out your aims.
Here are some of the more usual reasons people give:
- To finance a stay in America. Students and young people in particular are almost invariably short of cash, so holidays or longer stays in the United States are only possible if they can find a means of financing themselves. What they do is immaterial: washing dishes, looking after children or waiting in restaurants are merely a means to an end. The important thing is to be there and to savour the country at first hand.
- To gain useful work experience. Some higher education courses require students to do a placement in a foreign country which could last from just a couple of months to over a year. Learning to work and survive in a different environment not only broadens one’s outlook but could lead to excellent opportunities in the future in the international sphere.
- For career development. An increasing number of high level jobs nowadays call for people with international experience, who can work effectively in any part of the world and are equally at home in Birmingham, Bangkok or Bogota. Teachers and academics may also find that experience in a foreign country, apart from stimulating their ideas, also improves their status.
- To enjoy a better work environment. There are times when prospects at home look pretty bleak and people have an urge to look for greener pastures. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a considerable brain-drain from the British Isles to the United States, because R&D (research and development) facilities across the Atlantic were so much better funded. In certain areas, too, pay scales are much more generous.
- Because of family ties. If you have close relations in the United States, or you marry an American, you may have more compelling reasons than most to make your home there. You may also find that it is much easier for you to obtain the necessary documentation that will enable you to work.
- A company transfer. Some people do not specifically choose to go to the United States; they are asked to go there – to represent their company or their country, for instance, or to take control of a subsidiary firm. The move could represent a promotion and the prospect of higher earnings – in other words, you have an offer you can hardly refuse.