The USA for a year

Hi there,
Haven't posted here in a while but thought that someone might be able to shed some light....
Myself & 2 of my friends really want to go & live in NYC for a year (or more). We want to go at the end of this year if possible.
We are all in our 20s, have our own apartments (myself & one of the girls bought one together while girl number 3 bought one with her brother)
We are planning on renting out apartments while we're away.
Now for the problem, we have been researching Visas etc; yesterday & today & its looking very difficult to get a Visa without a job. We don't have jobs over there, and, naively thought that we could look for jobs when we arrived.
We have also looked at Canada as Oz doesn't appeal to any of us. This is looking like the same story.
Anyone got any information? Anyone done it before?!
Is it possible or are we living in a dream world!?
Thanks!!

Have you considered the tax implications of renting out your apartments while you're away?

Eh no, we're in the early stages of research.
Never thought of that - where would I get some info on that?
Thanks, Howitzer........

A quick search on stamp duty clawback should give you all the info you need, or at least some food for thought. Here's a pretty typical thread which seems similar to your situation.

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=37513

There is a VISA system for Canada called SWAP, where if you are under 30 ( I think ) you can apply for one of aprox 600 VISA's issued annually to Irish people to work there for a year.

I obtained one while in college & used it for 4 months.

As far as I can remember they are released in early Nov & I had to queue for it that mornign in the USIT office.

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I think that you will find getting into the US to work legally very difficult. Canada can give you that possibility while being within reach of the US. It really is a beautiful country !

I hate to burst your bubble but you cant work in the US without a visa.
Used to be that you could go to NY and get bar work or waitress and get paid under the counter if you know some people.....but you can forget about doing that these days. Since 9/11 no one will hire people without a visa or green card. They take that really serious these days. If you are caught over staying your visa or working without a permit you will most likely be deported and wont be allowed back in to the US ever.

The easiest way to get a visa is to get a job first but unless it is a "serious" job (i.e. something you have a degree in) you wont get a company to sponsor you. If you do get a job it can take them up to 3 months to get the visa for you because of a long winded process which I wont go into. You are tied to the company who gets you the work permit. You leave the job, you loose the permit.

You can get a green card which is essentially a work permit through the lottery but the closing date has passed for 2007 lottery.

You could try contacting USIT and see if you can get a J1 which is an exchange program which allows you to work for a few months (if you didnt get one before you might be able to get one even if you are not a student).

Thanks SNB, will definitely look into that as its starting to look like NYC is a bit of a pipe dream!!
Homeowner not in a million years would I consider working illegally!! I wouldnt have the nerve to even attempt that, I'd feel like a criminal (which infact I would be!)
No, no its legal with a Visa & anything else we might need or not at all....
Thanks for advice though. We were planning on working in the Services Ind (as opposed to a real job) so probably have no chance....

homeowner said:

You can get a green card which is essentially a work permit through the lottery but the closing date has passed for 2007 lottery.

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Yeah applied for that. Because of the new rules you needed to submit a special photo which cost me 20 euros ! I believe there is only about 1600 given to Ireland. (maybe less)

In your position you should forget about working in service work...presume you mean waitressing,nannying etc in new york.
Working in U.S. now you need to be 100% legal, with green card and correct visas. These are not easy to get unless you work for a american co. in ireland in a high up position and they transfer you over to u.s. with all your papers sorted for you.You can see from the american crime programmes ,that they are coming down very hard on any misdemeanors by foreigners e.g. carruso chasing evil baddies.Most of the undocumented irish in u.s. are leaving because of the way they are treated as criminals.
The lottery? well you can try.
It`s going to be very cold in winter in new york.
Your best bet is to save your money in ireland and take a holiday for a month or two in n.y.using a tourist visa. The summer is hot and humid so the best time is the spring..april/may or autumn.

I would love to work in NY for a year, who cares if it's cold in winter and hot & sweaty in summer ! Just 1 year would be enough for me

Anyway, re. Canada, anyone under 35 can apply for the 1 year visa , working holiday similar to Australia. From Vancouver (& surrounding islands) to the Rockies contains some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. If you want citylife I think Montreal & Toronto are your best bets, but they're even colder than NY in winter.

You must go through Usit to apply, and i think it starts at end of January, i think it's an online entry and visas are limited.

phoenix_n said:

Yeah applied for that. Because of the new rules you needed to submit a special photo which cost me 20 euros ! I believe there is only about 1600 given to Ireland. (maybe less)

Click to expand...

You always needed a special photo i.e not a regular passport one, well you needed it when I got mine back in 92, maybe it has changed again since then.