Relocating Dreams. Signed, Sealed, But Not Delivered: A J2 Visa Job Hunt

At the end of 2021, my neuroscientist husband received a research offer at Harvard Medical School. In 2022 we were more than eager to make Boston our home.

At that time, I was finishing my MBA and had a stable job at the local government in the UK. We wanted to make the most of all the opportunities and decided on a flexible living arrangement: we rented an apartment in Brookline but still maintained our English home.

Psychologically and financially it was a challenge. But we had our goals and priorities, so we made it work. Time went by as we took turns flying to one another. Thankfully, both jobs offered flexibility as long as the work got done.

At some point, I was applying for jobs in Massachusetts whilst my husband sought out other research opportunities. Needless to say, most academic positions are rather short-term.

Abundance of jobs — but not the interviews

Even as an almost MBA, applying in Boston was challenging. I didn’t have a mentor or anyone to advise me on cultural norms and differences. It took some time to discover ATS standards and different tones in motivation letters.

It took even more time to realize that companies saw me as a problem — a mixture of work permits and other documentation. Add the fact that my husband changed jobs due to his research — and I was far from a desirable candidate.

The thing with the USA is that if you're a dependent, everything relies on the visa holder. If they’re out of a job, you automatically lose your work permit. Companies know this and they manage their risks.

By the twist of events, I ended up getting a better job in England. I decided to stay and see what my researcher husband would do with his career. The logic behind this was that if he extended his work contract, I would have two or more years on my J2. I believed it would increase my chances of getting hired in Boston. In the meantime, I focused on leveling up my career — pocketed the MBA, and climbed to a higher position.

Smaller cities — more opportunities?

Shortly after, my husband decided on a different university — smaller and less known but offered a position in the neurosurgery department. And what scientist could refuse an opportunity to dangle with someone’s brain?! Needless to say, before we knew it, we were packing to a new city. This time, with a more stable two-year contract (due to the visa renewal rule) and a five-year plan for the funding. Promising.

When we broke the news to our family, they had no clue where the Midwest was. Quite frankly, I didn’t know either! But the opportunity of finally living in a smaller city and being closer to nature gave us a happy vision for the future. We dreamed of a work-life balance — one we never knew before.

I eagerly resigned from my job, packed the house (and the cat!), and crossed the ocean. After changing our visas, I needed to start a new process. The work permit cost more than just money — it sucked the life out of me. But I was sure it was worth it: great jobs, here I come!

Or not. Because what we didn’t think when moving to the Midwest was the market. Everyone weaved tales of great opportunities and how difficult it was to find qualified people like us. But what people forgot to mention was that jobs here focused on several things: medical and agricultural, banking and hospitality. Everything else was manual labour.

There was no shortage of qualified professionals. In fact, there were no jobs for people with my profile and experience.

I lived through blood baths of job searches in London, but what I found in the Midwest was crickets. I was overqualified for most of the jobs listed — or had absolutely no clue about the industry and job specifications, but was still too qualified and experienced on paper, so no one even considered me.

I tried starting over. I applied for entry-level jobs. But who would hire a mid-level manager with an MBA and 8ish years of experience for an admin job? We tried everything: exploiting our connections, going to job fairs, applying to cities that were an hour's driving, etc.

I had interviews. Some of them even seemed to go well! But then no one would call me back. After a month or so, I would receive a “thank you for your interest” email. By that time I would have forgotten about the job.

Funny enough, at some point interviewers started to question my “career gap”. I kindly explained the process of getting a work permit and pointed out that I am only applying to roles directly related to my experience and interests. However, internally, I was questioning my sanity and wondering how I found myself in such a situation. Luckily, I started a few projects of my own — they kept my motivation and made sure I was busy and up to date with my profession.

After a long process of searching, applying, changing my resume, and drafting countless versions of cover letters I finally had several jobs lined up. I accepted one that was closest to home — it also offered flexible work arrangements.

Offer signed, documents submitted, but where’s my job?

Not so fast! In the days, weeks, and eventually months that came after I was asked for additional documents, forms I’d never heard of before, and extra visits to the office — bringing my original documents, etc.

What I thought to be a massive advantage in my new position — being multicultural — turned out to be a fiasco.

My new employer was now asking for forms and documents from all the countries I’ve lived in before. I had to obtain paperwork I didn’t know existed — in Europe, some of these are not used. Not normally.

So, here I was — calling offices and ministries in Britain as well as back in my birth country — Lithuania. A rather funny experience. My professional Lithuanian is at a high school level and I’m not a resident, so the bureaucracy I was faced with was more than humbling. Needless to mention the translation and notary services followed every step of the way.

You might think it’s my fault — I didn't anticipate the amount of paperwork and could have prepared in advance. But I beg to differ. Since my husband — and a few other people in the family — went through the employment process here in the USA, I was rather familiar with everything that it might entail. However, perhaps it’s up to different employers — or perhaps it’s the fact that I’m a J2 holder, not the main visa holder. At this point, who knows?

I applied for this job in March. Had several interviews and completed all background checks. Submitted my references and the documents the organization asked for. I got extended the official offer in May — signed it and was happy with my start date. I checked in with my new boss and HR several times — asking if I needed any other forms or documents, making sure I was doing everything I could on my side. No, everything was fine, they were working on it. Perfect! Until it was not.

New forms and documents were asked for, and my start date was continuously pushed. At some point, I felt devastated.

The most frustrating was the inadequate feeling of loss. I felt frustrated about opportunities I might have missed as well as the person I was not becoming whilst patiently waiting for my employment to come through.

Lessons learned

I appreciate this piece might sound like a rant. In a way, perhaps it is. But it’s also a lesson — in business and life. And I want to share it. Perhaps I can spare you some misery if you’re also a multicultural searching for a new job.

1. When moving to a new country and starting to look for a job, do your market research. Understand the industries and bigger employers. If possible, connect with local professionals.
   In my case, I couldn’t have done anything even if I understood the local dynamics — we moved because of the opportunity my husband got. However, perhaps I would have stayed back in the UK. The reality here is that certain jobs are stable and there’s no movement. It means that these jobs rarely open up and even if they do, chances are there are several internal candidates. A foreigner with a funny British accent has little to no chance.

2. If you’re overqualified, focus on higher-level jobs, instead of the lower ones.
   I applied for a variety of roles in different industries. I came to realize that unless you’re going one step back, there is no chance of landing the position. However, if the stars align, you might have a shot at the job you never thought possible. I interviewed for some positions I would have never dared to apply to back in Britain.

3. Even if you receive a job offer and accept it, continue applying. Continue with other ongoing processes.
   My greatest regret is that I pulled out of the race — I had two other jobs in the running as well as a job offer further from home. I trusted the organization and didn’t want to waste my energy and emotional resources on other options. Later, when my new employer started to change the conditions and push back the starting date, I felt regretful. But I didn’t have another choice but to persevere.