1. Job Hunting Essentials (A Conversation on Job Hunting, Part II) . . 80 2. PRCers Seek R&D Positions in American High Tech Companies . . . . 155 3. CND Q&A COLUMN ON VISA/JOB/LEGAL MATTERS (No. 20) . . . . . . . . . 80 4. CND Q&A COLUMN ON VISA/JOB/LEGAL MATTERS (No. 21) . . . . . . . . . 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Job Hunting Essentials (A Conversation on Job Hunting, Part II) . . 80 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From: xiong@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Bo Xiong) Date: 22 Sep 90 02:39:42 GMT Here again is a conversation written based on the discussions with several graduated/graduating Chinese students. B: (A graduating Chinese student) Hi, it's time to continue our discussion again! I would like to ask when you started your job hunting process? A: (A graduated Chinese student) At the beginning of my last year in school. I "slept" until one day when I suddenly saw many of my fellow American students dressed up for on-campus job interviews. They told me that they had been preparing their resumes, curriculum vitae and cover/inquiry letters and looking for relevant info since the previous semester. B: It seems to me that people start quite early, why? What did you do first? A: I too, was surprised at that American students (both undergrads and grads) start looking for job one year ahead of graduation, I don't know why. But I believe that there must be good reasons since they grow up in this country and learnt many things about surviving in this society since their childhood. One of the reasons might be that job hunting/hiring-people is a time consuming process for both job hunter and head hunter. The first idea in my mind, of course, was to ask/look at how those American students do their job hunting, though I didn't fully follow them later. You know, we are foreigners, the situation is definitely different, if not difficult for us. The first thing I did was collecting infomation so as to see what chances I had in this country. I talked to those American students in my research group/classes to have preliminary idea about the job market for our major. And then went university library and career services for more extensive, detail and specific information, including resume/cover letter writing, searching for right employers and job interviewing, etc., we talked about this in the series 2. B: I have seen how to look for info from public accessible sources in the series 2 in which you said something about university career services/ placement office, can you talk a little bit more about how useful an university career services/placement office could be? A: The most I used our career services was asking them to send out the letter of reference and my transcript to those prospective employers (if they asked for those), the stuff they send out look much more official and creditable, in my school, the service is free of charge as long as you are a currently enrolled student (the letters were written by my professors and deposited in the career services). Also, university career services is a very inportant job info source, they can provide valueable and current job ads to master and Ph.D. students, the info is seldom seen on those ordinary public newspapers. Since university usually has traditional connections to companies, institutions and government agents, many employers go to campus to look for students instead of putting ads on newspapers. Last week, when I walked through hallway in one of the UIUC chemistry buildings, I saw several on-campus job interview announcements for Master/Ph.D. students in chemistry by some large companies. So, it's a good idea to make use of the free services provided by university. On the other hand, there is a major disadvantage if you rely on university career services, i.e., it will happen that many students are apply for the jobs in same company, since you are foreigner, you are "born" to be somehow less qualified than those native-born students. One recuiter talked me, "it's a big headache for us to apply for PR for foreign employees, if there is a qualified American worker/student, even one seems less qualified, we will consider him/her first as long as he/she meets our requirement", when I asked why, he said that in the PR application process, the Labor Dept. requires employer to prove there are NO qualified American workers, Labor Dept. will not approve AEC (Alien Employment Certification) if there is any American applicant for the same job who meets minimum job requirements, though the foreign worker may be much more qualified. This may happen when you look for a job via out-of-campus info source, however, in this case, the probability that you "compete with" many native students with similar qualifications is much lower. By the way, China Spring Magazine just published an article in October issue discussing AEC application procedure and pointed out the same problem. Well, it's Friday evening ... B: OK, let's continue next time. A: OK, when we have time and in the right mood :-) we'll talk about resume and cover/inquiry letter writing, how employers screen candidates from application letters, and maybe, how they look at/treat foreign students. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. PRCers Seek R&D Positions in American High Tech Companies . . . . 155 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From: schen@paul.rutgers.edu (Jerry) Date: 14 Nov 90 18:42:22 GMT I. General Situations ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I just read the Visa/Job Q&A collumn on CND and I am interested in the topic about PRC students working in American high tech companies. As far as I know, due to the security reason, most of those companies refuse to accept PRC nationals even for temporary work or summer job. Bell Lab is an example. I was quite surprised to see to news on CND which said there are lots of PRCs working there. I was instructed to contact you for details. Would you please help me out? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In general, it is quite true that it is hard for people from Communist area to get a position in those companies; however, there are exceptions. For example, one student, with help from Carin, just start working at ATT in New Jersey. There are positions, like that of defense contractors, require US citizenship which has nothing to do with PRC or whatever other nationality; one must be US citizen (and maybe pass security clearance) in order to take the position. When you talk about Bell Labs, there are many localtions; each has its own policy. Many locations needs only MS degree but some require a Ph.D. Well, a quick guess is that if one gets to know several cases where Bell Labs or IBM or other big companies refuse applicant from Mainland China, one tends to generalize the case: "Oh, big companies never hire people from PRC ...etc". In fact, I have not heard that there is such general policy, but there are many reasons that particular department may not hire people who need sponsor. In general, it is true that small companies tend to willing to sponsor H-1 visa than big companies. II. Each Comapny Has Its Own Policy -------------------------------------------------------------------- I am a postdoc and hold J-1 visa now. I tried to seek a research position in JPL of NASA. They are very interested in my quilification, if I were US PR, they would have hired me. Is there a possibility to be employed in NASA for J-1 holder of PRC scholar? How can I apply that? -------------------------------------------------------------------- Each company has its own regulation of hiring. Government related projects normally require US citizenship; some sensitive ones even require security clearance. I would suggest that you either find a teaching position that would sponsor you (ie. get you H-1 and later help you obtain PR) or work at some other companies that will not require US citizenship or PR for the time being. If you really would like to join JPL of NASA, you could try to apply years later when you become PR or US citizen. III. Where to Ask Specific Questions? --------------------------------------------------------------------- I saw from CND news that I could get some information about Chinese student obtaining jobs from US high tech. corp. Would you please tell me some more details. Thank you --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have specific questions, I would try my best to answer. Normally, one should get ones resume ready 6 months to 1 year before obtaining degree. One then starts attending campus career planning office's seminar and obtain tons of info that may apply. More often, your roomates or classmates who just obtained job offer are the people that you want to talk about in detail; they have very similar background as you and the succeeds. p.s. you are also welcome to call me at 201-699-6434 (O) or 201-819-7172 (H) IV. Need to Learn More about Your Case ----------------------------------------------------------------- Do you know any Chinese without PR or US citizenship hired by IBM or other similar companies ? I accepted a job offer from IBM (research and development). But I was told that they have difficulties in hiring PRC nationals. The problems are due to Export Administration Regulation. I know that the problems are not hard to solve. I need some examples. Do you know some Chinese people who did that ? Can you let me contact them ? By the way, I got your email address from CND Q&A Column. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Would you call me at 201-699-6434 (O) ? I would like to learn more about your case. Or maybe you could give me the person's name and phone number at IBM, I would like to ask them for more detail as to why they could not sponsor you. Normally, when it says there are difficulties, it means it may take many levels of management to sign and approve it if someone happens to be excellent and want to be made an exception. V. A Very First Hand and Timely Case About Getting A Position in IBM -------------------------------------------------------------------- Here I have a very first hand and timely case about applying a position at IBM that will help many of our concerned SCC netters. I just called IBM, and the info is very accurate. One thing I may want to point out is that if your area of research is NOT that sensitive and impacted by "1979 Export Administration Act" and with Ph.D degree, IBM will still consider sponsor you. For more information, you may call Larry Dunn of IBM college and professional recruiting at (407)443-0208. He usually accepts collect calls and is your first hand and most direct source about IBM recuiting. -- Jerry ----------------------------------------------------------(A letter to Jerry) I will be out of town for a few days. I will call you after I come back. Thanks a lot for your warm help. Basically they said they cannot help because of the federal law of 1979 Export Administration Act. Hiring people without PR or citizenship is controlled as technical data export according to the law. Most high tech related technical data export need to apply for export license from US Department of Commerce. IBM hires people without PR or citizenship only if they are PhD's, but they do not hire PRC national because of 1979 Export Administration Act. I was told by Barbara Humphry at Technical Recruiting, Yorktown Heights, NY. Her office deals with all PhD hirings in IBM. They believe that PRC as a Communist country is very hard to be approved for technical data export. The result of my study of Export Adminstration Regulation and my conversation with officials in US Department of Commerce is the following. (1) The application of export license is simple and easy : a single page form and a cover letter. (2) PRC is now treated close to most other countries in Asia and in Western Europe. Such export license is also needed for hiring people from all other countries. Companies may or may not actually do it. The US government has no way to enforce it. Usual export licenses are checked only when the goods pass custom. For more information about my case, you may call Larry Dunn of IBM college and professional recruiting at (407)443-0208. He usually accepts collect calls and his answer machine accepts collect calls. I recently mailed Larry Dunn a copy of the application form for export license and instructions of how to make the application for my case. I also included the telephone numbers of "export help center", a very knowledgable official of US Department of Commerce, and ordering Export Administration Regulation. I hope this can change his decision of with drawing the job offer. This problem seems a wide-spread one. In CND, one asked for changing passport to ROC and another asked for examples with IBM, AT&T and NASA. According B. Humphry at IBM Yorktown Heights, Bell Labs have similar difficulties. Some other people in IBM Technical Recuiting, Yorktown Heights are Dr. S. Moore and Dr. Joyner. If you want to call them, IBM telephone operators at Yorktown Heights can help you. You can get the operator's telephone number from (914)555-1212. I think I should be able to have them apply the export license for me. The chance of approval is very high and the approval takes usually around a month. Thanks for your concern. The success of my case may help many Chinese students. I am not sure if we need help from our organization, QuanMeiXieLian. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. CND Q&A COLUMN ON VISA/JOB/LEGAL MATTERS (No. 20) ..................80 ============================================================================== From: CND Q&A Editor Bo Xiong Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 NOTE: All discussions on this column are for readers' information only, one should consult his/her lawyer or proper professionals before handling his/her own visa/job/legal matters. I. H-1er Getting Spouse into US ------------------------------- Q: From ***@oregon.uoregon.edu Thu Nov 1 11:48:25 1990 I was on a J-1 visa and changed to H-1 because of the Presidential Directive. I am also working on obtaining a green card. My wife is in Canada studying English. She's been there for about two years. I would like to bring her in on an H visa (as a dependent). Is that possible? Will the U.S. consulate in Canada issue her such a visa? A: If one has filed PR application (even the person hasn't but on H-1 status), it could be very difficult for the person's spouse to convince overseas US consular officer that s/he has no intetion to immigrate to US in the visa application interview, it's fully upto the US consul whether the visa will be issued based on the interview. The proposed new US Immigration Law allows "dual intent" for H-1ers (actually US INS has been accepting dual intent for years), but does not mention how to treat H-4ers (usually they apply for H-4 together with principal H-1), if a H-1er's dependent (spouse and children) applies for H-4 visa separately from overseas, the US consular officer has the final say on the matter per US law. Note: "dual intent" -- allow alien workers apply for H-1 NON-IMMIGRANT TEMPORARY WORKINGG VISA with possible intention to apply for IMMIGRANT VISA later, i.e., eliminate the presumption of immigration intent of a H-1 visa applicant. II. H-1 Working & Studying in the Same School --------------------------------------------- Q: From **@**.physics.fsu.edu Fri Oct 19 14:29:10 1990 Why a H-1 holder can study at school unless he/she dose not work at school? My husband is a F-2 holder and he works full time in the university while studying part time. It's possible for him to apply a H-1 and/or labor certificate. Does that mean that he cannot continue his study if he change to H-1? A: If a H-1er is working for an employer other than the school, he cannot work in the school while taking courses there, i.e., H-1er can only work and must work full time for the employer who sponsors his/her H-1. If the employer happens to be the school where the H-1er takes courses, the H-1er may work and study there on full time basis with employer's consent, and the immigration procedure is the same for the H-1er to go through (see previous CND Q&A). III. US PR and J-1 Parents Coming Here AFTER 04/11/90 ----------------------------------------------------- Q: From ****@UBVMSC.BITNET Tue Oct 30 11:05:22 1990 I would like to know if it is possible that a person who has had PR for about 2 years to get PR or other kind visas for his parent who came to the States with J-1 visa AFTER 4/11/1990. A: So many readers have asked that whether a J-1er came to US AFTER April 11, 1990 can get two-year-rule waived or change to any other non-immigrant /immgrant status. As per Bush's April 11, 1990 Executive Order, only those PRCers, who were once in the US AND in a lawful status (whatever lawful status for even just one day) between June 5, 1989 and April 11, 1990, are entitled FULL benefits offered by Bush's Order, such as J-1ers being granted waiver of two-year-rule, out-of-staters getting new immigration status, work permit and etc.. Those PRCers who fell out of status BEFORE June 5, 1989 may apply for work permit and stay in the US until January 1, 1994, but cannot get a new lawful status without leaving US. By the way, per US Immigration Laws, unlike US citizens, US PR's parents are not in any category of the preference immigration system. *** Send your question to cnd-ep@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu *** Contact gxu@kentvm.bitnet for the back issues of CND-US ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. CND Q&A COLUMN ON VISA/JOB/LEGAL MATTERS (No. 21) ................. 98 ============================================================================== From: CND Q&A Editor Bo Xiong Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 NOTE: All discussions on this column are for readers' information only, one should consult his/her lawyer or proper professionals before handling his/her own visa/job/legal matters. I. How to Get Birth Certificate for PR Application -------------------------------------------------- Q: From ***@wsu-eng.eng.wayne.edu Fri Nov 2 23:54:03 1990 I am in a position to get birth certificate documents for my wife and myself. I authorized my relative in Shanghai to apply for the certificates from Shanghai Notary Public Office. My relative told me that it is pretty hard to obtain birth certificate from Chinese government at present. The Notary Public Office in Shanghai has so many rules to an applicant, such as: (1) Obtain an approval from the applicant's original work unit if the applicant was sponsored by Chinese government; (2) Provide several passport-size pictures which must be certified by a Notary Public in the U.S. to indicate the person on the picture is really the applicant, furthermore, the Notary Public in the U.S. has to be a U.S diplomatic office recognized by Chinese government; (3) The pictures will be sent to the applicant's original work unit and be proved that the person on the picture is really the applicant by the work unit. I think this may be a common problem many Chinese students in the U.S. are encountering. Any suggestions to bypass this hassle are welcome. A: It's required by US INS in the final immigration interview for applicants to submit their birth certificates and (optional, better have it) the certificates of no-criminal-record-in-PRC. There are two possible ways to overcome/bypass the hassel in getting birth certificate in PRC: 1) It's very customary in PRC that different offices/cities/officials handle the SAME issue in DIFFERENT ways, according to other PRCers' experience, you may just ask your relatives (sisters, brothers, parents and etc., if you do have) in another city to apply for your birth certificate for you. In some smaller cities (NOT necessarily the city you were born), the Notary Public office will issue such an document if your relatives can submit a "letter of introduction" issued by your relatives' working unit (they MUST have known how to get it :-), the letter must state the names of your parents and your birth date. They DO NOT need any photo and would issue you the certificate with PRC nation-wide standard format/wording in both Chinese and English, the OFFICIAL fee charged is approximately 100 yuan RMB in total. For the certificate of no-criminal-record-in-PRC, you may follow the same procedure, maybe the Notary Public Office needs a verification letter issued by local police station as well. 2) If you are unable to get the birth certificate by above method, you may ask two or three of your relatives/neighbors to sign a statement about your birth date and your parents' names, then have it translated into English and have the translation verified by a lawyer in the US (you may find lots of Chinese-American lawyers doing this on Chinese newspaper's ads here), this is good enough to be accepted by US INS as many immigration lawyers suggest and practice. 3) This is a really easy way, all you need to do is go to the hospital where you were born (ask your mother to go there) and get a copy of the certificate in Chinese. Get notarized in the US (don't do it in China) together with the proper translation. It is very easy, unbelievablely easy as reported by a CND reader. Finally, it's a good idea to get it as soon as possible for future use. II. J-1ers Owe PRC Government Money ----------------------------------- Q-1: From ***@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu Sat Nov 3 20:03:38 1990 I sent my passport to the Chinese consulate. They phoned me and said: if I write a letter saying that I owe the Chinese goverment money and listing a plan to return the money in the future, then they will consider extend my passport. What do you think of this? Should I write such a letter? If I write such letter, could they use this to convince the US INS not to give a green card later? (I switched visa from J-1 to H-1) A: If you write such a letter, and if you fail to pay back the money you owe per the schedule you promised, you could be sued here in the US by the beneficiary of the letter. This letter could not be used to damage your immigration status in the US as long as you pay off your debt you admitted. Q-2: From ***@PSUVM.PSU.EDU Thu Nov 8 19:15:55 1990 I started to work at an university since I graduated in 1987. I obtained my Laber Certificate on March, 1990. My passport will be expired on August, 1991 before I can expect my PR. I was told by the Chinese Consulate at NY that if I want to extend my passport I have to return the money I got from the government (I was a government sponsored student when I first came to US) Under Bush's executive order, do I still need the valid passport in order to get my PR? What can happen if I do not have the valid passport when I apply for PR? How do the other people handle such a situation? Are there any suggestions what should I do in such a case? A: As per Bush's Order, until January 1, 1994, a qulified PRC national does not need a valid passport to deal with US INS or travel outside US and return to US (see previous CND Q&A for detail), so is when you are in the final immigration interview. Although it's unlikely that anything will happen in terms of your PR application, you should return the money you owe, then you would stay here with a little bit more peaceful mind. *** Send your question to cnd-ep@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu *** Contact gxu@kentvm.bitnet for the back issues of CND-US ------------------------------------------------------------------------------