work visas

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my boss in paris said if i could figure out the procedure he could help me get a work visa.

i'm a little bit peeved because i brought this idea up with him while i was still in the states and he ignored me.

i have vague memories of being told that to change my status from traveller (without a visa) to legal employee (with a work visa) i will have to go back to the states, which i neither want to do nor can really afford.

the us embassy and consulate sites do not work for me. i will probably stop by there later today but i fear i will be somehow stonewalled.

any tips or ideas or knowledge to share w/r/t to americans working in europe?

― amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 27 October 2003 13:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I beleive you don't have to go back to the states,but you might need to leave the country briefly.

― Pete (Pete), Monday, 27 October 2003 13:09 (twenty-two years ago)

thanks so you will put me up then?

― amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 27 October 2003 13:10 (twenty-two years ago)

actually ssshh i am going to be in london soon.

― amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 27 October 2003 13:10 (twenty-two years ago)

amateurist, my wife had real trouble getting a work visa in the UK. I've no doubt it's different (possibly harder) in France, but essentially your employer has to prove that you are as suited to your job as any French citizen. My wife's employer would first have to put down a certain amount of money to sponsor her (I can't remember how much, but it ain't cheap), then advertise in a relevant publication and interview any suitable candidates before concluding that she was best for the job. Then it's all up to the Home Office, or whatever the French equivalent is-I'm not sure how much the US embassy will help you, but your case may be different. It's a bit of a crazy (and expensive) process, and be prepared for a veritable mountain of French bureacracy. You can find an immigration lawyer through the American church/newspaper classifieds who may be able to streamline the process and do a lot fo the grunt work, but again it will cost you. I hope it all works out for you, anyway.

― adaml (adaml), Monday, 27 October 2003 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

this was before you got married, right?

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

right.

― adaml (adaml), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 00:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I have a bad feeling it might be a LOT more complicated in France

― s1utsky (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 01:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, almost certainly. Where would France be without insane piles of paperwork, petty officialdom, and needless administration?

Although nearly six months of living in the US has taught me that America is far from straightforward in this respect. I'd tell my social security story, but...well, it's just not that interesting.

― adaml (adaml), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 02:36 (twenty-two years ago)

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