“In one year, Brazilian engineers manage to be legalized in the United States and can start working from the beginning of the process because they obtain temporary work authorization”, says Leonardo Freitas, an immigration specialist and partner at the international immigration consultancy Hayman-Woodward.
The procedure indicated is to apply for the -EB2 visa in the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. No knowledge of English or previous job offer is required. “Outside the state of Florida, it is difficult to work without speaking English, but mastery of the language is not an immigration requirement,” says Freitas.
nearly 20% of Hayman-Woodward’s customers are engineers. The demand of these professionals for the immigration law services offered by the consultancy grows every year: 100% from 2015 to 2016, and 200% from 2016 to 2017. For this year, the projection is also a high of 200%.
The hottest engineering careers in the USThe areas of engineering for which there are the most opportunities, according to Freitas, are civil – both for large-scale construction and residential construction – oil and gas, chemical, production, electronics, electrical, telecommunications and networks.
The validation of the Brazilian diploma requires proof that must be taken in the state where the professional will work, since the issuance of the certification is regional. But the license is only necessary for professionals who will work as engineering technicians, which is not always the case. “Among Brazilians,
professionals with experience between five and 10 years are the most sought after”, says Freitas. Qualification is also a common point. The majority of engineers who come to Hayman have gone beyond graduation: 32% have a master’s degree, 31% have a graduate degree, and 13% have a doctorate.
Woodward went to work in the state of Texas (24%). But Freitas cites Alaska, which already accounts for 18% of the consultancy’s clients, as a very promising environment for engineers. “There are a lot of Brazilians going there to work with oil drilling,” he says.
“Prospects are great”
says Brazilian civil engineer Job opportunities for engineers in the United States go beyond a company badge. The Brazilian civil engineer, João Márcio Abijaodi Vieira, for example, undertook in the country. In 2017, J. Mav Development & Management opened,
company focused on the real estate market for residential and commercial construction projects in the states of Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. ‘permits’ and construction”, he says. In Brazil,
the engineer has always worked in large companies and on large projects. A market that has dwindled in recent years here is flourishing there. “The US is going through a very good moment, many investments, many works, opportunities arise all the time. The US economy has surpassed all growth expectations. In the real estate market,
where I work directly, the growth is noticeable”, says the engineer. His first business plan was projected for two years and he has already started to make the next one. “I’m quite optimistic, the prospects are great for the next few years,” he says.
Change planning was detailedFor those who want to work in engineering in the United States,
Vieira indicates detailed planning. “Include in this planning the analysis of immigration and tax issues, try to be supported by qualified professionals in these two aspects”, he says.
americana and calculate the cost of learning time. “‘Change’ in the broadest sense of the word will be a process where behavior, knowledge, skills and abilities will be negatively and positively impacted and will be being tested all the time,” she says.
Director of operations and management of a Brazilian engineering company that operates in the areas of infrastructure, steel, mining, industry, energy and oil and gas, Vieira was sent to the United States in 2015 to work as an agent in the areas of new business.” My board worked directly in the management of projects,
in the implementation of projects at the clients’ sites, in the management of multidisciplinary engineering projects and in the company’s integrated corporate management”, he says. and medium size,
as well as the particularities and trends of the real estate market. “I also dedicated a lot of my time to prospecting and evaluating local service and material suppliers, a very important aspect in the modus operandi practiced in the construction area throughout the USA”, he says. also works for Brazilian investors.
“I have developed several feasibility studies for Brazilians looking for investment opportunities in the real estate market, both for rent and for sale”, he says.
