Hey all, Namaste,
Here is my story. I am 27 years old, male, i just recently came back to Nepal from Europe after doing my master's and now have a chance to live in USA (if everything goes well with my visa). Please note that i wont have a job waiting for me when i get there. After talking to a lot of people, i have been told that the best place to start would be New York. I am aware the rent is super expensive but I would rather live in a city that has more opportunities and more competition than in an area having zero opportunities and few competitions. I want to live there for a year or something and see how it goes. Anyways, the first question is regarding a place to stay and where to find it? I would probably get there by the mid or end of March 2015 but i dont know anybody there. I have been going through craigslist for rooms/shared or whatever but I heard its not very reliable and there's a lot of scams and such. Furthermore, those ads that seem genuine ask for 3 months payslips and proof of employment and references from previous room mates. i can get the references from my room mates that i had in Europe but how do i show them the payslips when i dont have a job? So my question is... how do i solve this problem? would they consider renting out their roms to a guy who doesnt have a job? and oh, please do let me know if any of you have rooms or know anybody who has a room available in Queens or Brooklyn or any cheap areas. i dont need a fancy place, even a couch would do really. Im very clean and respect other people's privacy. Thanks in advance :)

I really dont want to lie on my resume especially when its a high skilled job involved and dont even consider it as an option because I dont want to make an ass out of myself when handed with simple tasks at work (if for some reason they decide to take me in). Would they even consider a position for a person with zero IT experience or education? I dont think so.

I know you will not do it but again I will advise you to check out consultancy, reasons are you will get free lodging and fooding for 3 months , you will learn a lot from your friends to culture and all inside out. In these three months you can decide what you want to do, you don't have to join them, just make them believe that you have nobody here and will definitely take the project .
I might sound like I am from consulting firm but hey I lost too much time in the states working this and that . I finished my degree too but found good job through consultancy. Lot of Indians are doing this so why not us ? As I have said you don't have to do this but you can check this out by yourself. I also mentioned name of two consultancies earlier, rest you decide . In next few years I would like to see my Nepali brothers working around me not these Indians . Good luck for the interview

@aalukojhol i will look them up for sure. :) it still sounds weird that they almost adopt u and put u in a training camp for free considering the economy is down the drain. oh well, one step at a time. thanks man.

Kiddo, I don't care what ur stance is , I don't care and don't time fking time to go back and check all your comments. Stop acting like god figure of sajha. You're acting like a everything that comes out of your keyboard is the direct commandments of god. My last comment was not even personally directed to you but you sure got offended. look at what you wrote on your own comment " Consultancy sure is fishy but not as fishy as you are thinking. For people with limited options, this is probably the best deal. They will get portion of your salary, you might have to sell a little bit of your integrity to bolster your resume and all, but it still could be better than working minimal salary job."
selling integrity, blosteing resumes, are unethical and I don't advise to anyone even if you have to be broke for life. Someone who wants to start a life and career in the USA is asking for advise and we are as a Nepali, some of us are telling him to go through consultancy. the only consultancies who would be interested to take someone with business and social studies background are the indian consultancies and it's only because they hope to land this dude in some job with fake resume.you know that and we all know that, so stop acting like you were talking about real consultancies. I have seen those consultants at my work and often my co-workers and others talk about them, it takes 10 mins to find out if the consultants have real experience or is faking.
Peanutbutterman, I like your honesty and enthusiasm.

@pshrestha78 thanks :). I think most people are recommending the IT consultancies because of the fact that they provide free lodging which is great if somebody (like me) doesnt have a place to live and i will have a fixed job later on. Guys, at this point, there is no such thing as a good or a bad advice. Any information or suggestion is highly appreciated. I understand everybody is trying to help out with whatever experiences they have had and im just soaking it all in. Happy holidays

Peanutbutterman, be careful though, these indian consultancies are not providing free charity services in the usa by providing free food and lodging. They often make you sign contract and keep their legal option open to sue you for training and lodging if they want to, make sure to read the fine print if you do decide to follow that route, my 2 cents. often they sue you for more than 10 grand. now it's a different story that lots of times they don't really pursue because they don't want to get in trouble by opening Pandora's box because they are shady themselves, but still be careful. the consultancy route is mostly followed by f1 students because of the visa technicality they need to find jobs quickly. looks like you are going to have better options when you will be in the U.S then a F1 student , and i'm sure you'll make the wise decision. My best wishes.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/28/-sp-jobs-brokers-entrap-indian-tech-workers

Kiddo, with all due respect, a level headed guy like yourself fretting and constantly nagging over consultancies is quite tiresome. It is kinda baffling and a bit hypocritical of people trying to bring others down just because he didn't get hired in same manner. Sort of reminds me of DV winners belittling GC holders that got their GCs through Marriage/Asylum/Refugee status/family petition.

My best friend has been working as a CPA at one of top 4 companies for the past 2.5 years and he doesn't even rake 70k/year. Another close friend of mine rakes 50 bucks/hr (contractor) while working as a DBA analyst.

The former has his MBA/Master's in Accountancy from a decent school. The latter has his Master's from a decent school, too. The latter didn't get hired because of his major that didn't attract many employers to sponsor H1 visa. What choices did he have? 1. return back home (after spending a decade here, that wasn't what he intended to do), 2. Get married to a black girl for GC. 3. Join a CPT college and keep going to school just for the sake of maintaining your status. He chose the third option and also joined a consultancy. And now, the former is pondering if he should actually quit his job and go after the 'gold rush'. Why? Because he just came to know of a consultant who works for his own company. She got placed through a consultancy and after 3 years, she's earning 135k.

Say, some Nepali Kanchi has earned her B. Sc in psychology with average grades and doesn't get hired. What options does she have? She either coughs up money that her parents don't have for grad school or return back.

One Nepali babu has a bachelor's degree in Business Management. Joining an average MBA school is near useless while he can't get into or can't afford the costs of a solid MBA program.

These are just 2 scenarios. Then you've got a horde of compatriots unable to find jobs after bachelor's. I hope you don't really think Nepalis join grad school just for the sake of getting higher education. Very few people do it willingly. In fact, given an option of full time job after Bachelor's and attaining Masters degree, VERY few people would choose the latter option.

Further, if you're not aware of entire path of consultancy - vendor - client, let me share my knowledge.

Babu/Kanchi joins a crash course. They teach you what your roles are. Whether and how you end up surviving once you get placed is entirely upto you! If anything, a person showing capability and desire to hang onto a job secured in such manner is quite impressive.

What's more, most managers and clients know that these contractors' resume is fake. Essentially, it's a "I didn't see it" situation. Guess what this should serve as a reminder of? Visa to the US. Didn't 95% of Nepalis lie somehow? Sure, if you got full ride to get to the US, you can brag about meeting the requirement of proving that your education was fully funded. But what about the second criteria? That of proving that you'll return home after your graduation? Its common knowledge that those are the two criteria that need to be fulfilled to get visas. Someway or the other MOST people do it.



I'm neither condoning your personal opinion, nor trying to change your views. But come on, you need to show some compassion, perhaps? There are so many people that came to the US by taking loans. There are quite a few people that can't afford to just linger around grad school by working like a dog while making 30k/year for five years because their family back home counts on them to support them.

This talk of "integrity, self-respect, self-esteem" is spurred either by jealousy or ignorance.

Aalukojhol gave a real solid advice and I'd like to say that if you have at least a Bachelor's degree without needing to worry about maintaining your status, joining a consultancy is a no brainer. You got fired from BOA within a week of getting placed? No problem. You could get hired by Chase or Anthem Bluecross or Boeing within a week!

This Sajha is so funny, somebody wants a genuine advice and people just find something to fight for. Thanks Riddle bro for giving all the real life examples . If you can , give him suggestions that can help him right after arriving here, not the 5 -10 year plan of going to university and bla bla . Whatever I have done, it worked for me and I know it will work on the situation of peanutbutter, rest is his decision , peace brothers , happy holidays

Riddle, I might not agree with everything you have said but I respect your POV. I don't want to make this thread about me and my beliefs and hence opting out. If needed we will continue the conversation somewhere else.

Peanutbutter, a lot of things have been said about consultancy in the both end of the spectrum- ironically I got criticized from both ends for favoring the other end, not sure how, but let's get back to your issue. Do your due deligence. Once you get here, get input from both sides as many will try to influence you on what they think is right. I am sure you didn't need that advice as you are a grown up, but I just want to put that as a reminder.

Hi,

Looking at this thread reminds me of past life when I stepped US for the first time. I was a Lucky dv winner in 2012 and got a chance to come to US. I was completely new to the country and dont know how to start my life. As Everybody does for survival I started to look a job in liquor store but at the same time one of my friend gave me some idea about the consultancy business. That was the turning point of my life. I was confused whether to join the consultancy or not but my friend convinced me that its a good step to keep my feet wet in the IT industry. Finally I joined the consultancy and then keep on getting the projects on contract. Mean time I was looking for the better opportunity . During my projects I worked hard and finally I was hired as the full time employee and I am happy with my job. So the moral of the story is joining consultancy is not bad . Its the initial step to reach your destiny.

I totally agree with aalukojol and would like to tell peanutbutterman that if you have something better than this than you can sure go for it but if not then why not join any good consultancy and head up your life in US. I am not promoting any consultancy business I just want to share my personal experience so that people like me get a right way to head in US.

Kiddo,

You said, “You probably haven't seen my stance on this issue in my earlier posts”: you’re not that important. Stop acting like you‘re some kind of sajha leader and we all care what your stance is.
I got out of IT about 10 yrs back because I didn't want to lie in my resume which had become a norm in the iT industry: good for you, keep your personal sob to yourself.
Some polishing should be tolerated but blatant lie was simply too much for me: Great , you’re saying don’t lie here, one side of you but look at the sentence below you say it's okay to lie, you self contradicting leader of sajha.

They will get portion of your salary, you might have to sell a little bit of your integrity to bolster your resume and all, but it still could be better than working minimal salary job: great job on changing your color even lizards can't do that soon.

 It wasn't directed to me? Were you talking to your imaginary friend when you said… :

I said “ you” while I was addressing all the viewers visiting this site. But I’m sure mr. so important saw it was directed to him, ya the wold world works for you , a leaf can’t even fall without your permission mr. sajha god. God luck to your and this website, I am out. It was a mistake to come visit sajha after months. Now I will not repeat it. Feel free to copy my comments and write narratives , I am sure you will be praised by your devotees. As for me , I don’t care to give any important to your arrogant arse. Good bye. Merry Christmas.

I just woke up. What's happening here? Chill everybody :). Im not gonna lie but the consultancies sound very tempting to me and others in my position. And and I know its not a charity and will probably bound me in some kind of contract. Even if I decide to leave (which I wont or I will be called a namakharam or some crap) what are they gonna sue me for? my hobo cart? XD. Okay the reason I said I was okay woth any kind of job was that in EU, no matter what your profession is, be it a biomedical engineer or a janitor, you would get paid almost the same and I really dont know if its a good thing or a bad thing. The salary difference is not so great that a whole zero is missing from the paycheck. I am now realizing it would be almost impossible to make a proper living working minimum wage jobs in America. Oh well, cheers :)

peanutbutterman,

I completely understand your urge to go to new york city. i mean who wouldn't right?. plus like you said in the beginning that your hearing stories in nepal about how ny is place to be and to start, etc, etc. I'm not trying to discourage you to come here but that is not completely true. Heck! you wana come to the city, so why not. Here's my plan for you.

Since you don't have any families, or friends anywhere here u need place to stay when you arrive first then a find a job.

I think you have two options.

1. Find a place on your own, then job on your own.

First, It's very difficult to find a place to live in nyc specially for cheap. I would say it's equally difficult to find an apartment even if your willing to pay extra for it. (you need to know people)
Second, It's even difficult to find a job if you don't have any contacts. Unless you want to be a dishwasher, or a busboy for $300 a week. That is also kinda difficult to find these days. haha

2. Join a consultancy.

It will give you free accommodation, food, training, and eventually job placement. No difficulties. You just have to study, and give time for your training. You have to sign a contract saying that once you find a job you will stay with them for 1 whole year. (basically they want about 20%-30% cut from your first year salary, then your free to go where ever you want to) I think since they will help you with your interviews, and give you support at your job if needed they definitely deserve that pay cut. It's only one year, not your entire life. so its all good.

If I were you.

I'm 27. I just came from europe. Finished my studies there. So, im no dummie. I have some sense of western culture, and their cities.

(you'r in new york for the first time!! It's gona be amazingggggggggg. lights, noise, people, boobs, garbage, more people, cabs, pretty indian people, ugly indian people, o_O nepali people, more noise more cabs, more boobs, paan, homeless people, more boobs. This first time is never going to come back ever again so enjoy all you can because after the first time you will hate going to the city. haha)

Scenario A.
I would from the airport straight go to my motel room and leave my suitcases there, call home (assuming i have a smartphone/viber (assuming someone at home also has a viber)) and then hit the bar, then some club and get phaked up. May be get laid (assuming im tall, charming, fair, well built)

Scenario B.
(assuming i have hit some chick on facebook several months ago. became friends. or even girlfriend) She has come to pick me up from the airport. She takes me to her apartment or to my motel room and leave my suitcases there, call home (assuming i have a smartphone/viber (assuming someone at home also has a viber)) and later on she comes to pick me up then we hit the bar, then some club and NOT get phaked up. May be get laid (assuming im tall, charming, fair, well built)

Wake up next morning, if the girl is next to you, go few more rounds, else go to star bucks. then go to a cellphone store. get a sim card. call consultancy in new jersery (assuming that i have already contacted them from Nepal). go to consultancy. (about 30mins in subway) visit new york, hangout then back to training. also study for my drivers license. get my license. give interview for a job. get the job. go to job middle of no where and make so much money that you don't know what to do with it.

or, after few days in new york, if you dont feel like ny is your thing then come to consultancy in dallas, tx. its more quite and laid back. else enjoy dish washing brother because you aint getting no other job.

Best of luck.

btw, what address have you given or you are planning to give when they ask where to send the documents at the embassy? i think they ask you this, dont they? or may be at the airport?

@pirka, great guide and info. Except for the part where you said i would only be able to find a job as a busboy or a dishwasher if i dont have contacts. For real? What the heck is a busboy anyways? And for $300? Im a bit concerned at this point. And for the address part, I used a motel's ( I was told it's acceptable) but i dont really want to live there even for a day. For the same reason I have been trying to find a place to stay for a longer period and know the place and the system a little better while I take whatever job i can find for atleast a few months keeping the consultancy thing as my backup plan. Well, that's that. I will keep you guys updated. Thanks everybody. I have learned a lot :)