working in totally different field than degree

[ammu]

Does any one know about this scenario? I have done my masters in mechanical engg and working as a full-time employee in IT(Insurance company), I have over two years of exp. in IT, but no qualification background, what kind of questions visa officer ask about the qualification? Do you know anyone who has same situation like mine? should i go for stamping or wait for some time to get more experience, or do some certifications regarding the work I am doing in the company? thanks in advance.

[JoeF]

This will blow up in your face eventually.

On H1, you can only work in a job that required a college degree in a particular field.

It is likely that you would get a visa denial, and an H1 extension denial as well.

[AjayReddyK]

Hello,

Dont worry you can go to stamping even though you are not working in your field of major. I have also did masters in mech and working in IT. I went to stamping recently and have only 1.5 yr experience when gone for stamping. I know couple of my freinds got stamping in same scenarios without any issues.

Hey JoeF- Can you please tell me that do you have any reference or an article that you have gone through which says "On H1, you can only work in a job that required a college degree in a particular field" ? Just curious to know.

Thanks

-Reddy

[vinson]

nothing happens.. just tell that you had C and C++ language which motivated you to move to IT field. its perfectly a valid answer.

[JoeF]

Hey JoeF- Can you please tell me that do you have any reference or an article that you have gone through which says "On H1, you can only work in a job that required a college degree in a particular field" ? Just curious to know.

8 CFR 214.2(h)

© Beneficiary qualifications. To qualify to perform services in a specialty occupation, the alien must meet one of the following criteria:

( 1 ) Hold a United States baccalaureate or higher degree required by the specialty occupation from an accredited college or university;

( 2 ) Hold a foreign degree determined to be equivalent to a United States baccalaureate or higher degree required by the specialty occupation from an accredited college or university;

It is rather hard to argue that an IT position requires a mechanical engineering degree, except in very limited circumstances, e.g., if you write CAD software.

[ottawa_29OCT]

nothing to serious , prepare ready to answer . fact is more than 50% are non -computer degree holders working in IT

[JoeF]

And INA (Immigration and Nationality Act) 214 specifies:

(i) [/url] (1) 12/ Except as provided in paragraph (3), for purposes of section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) , 20/ section 101(a)(15)(E)(iii) , and paragraph (2), the term "specialty occupation" means an occupation that requires-

(A) theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, and

(B) attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States.

(Emphasis mine)

[JoeF]

nothing happens.. just tell that you had C and C++ language which motivated you to move to IT field. its perfectly a valid answer.

No, it is not a valid answer.

The OP would have to have a degree in the specialty for the H1, in this case a degree in CS.

Just knowing some programming languages is not enough.

[can_stamping]

Does any one know about this scenario? I have done my masters in mechanical engg and working as a full-time employee in IT(Insurance company), I have over two years of exp. in IT, but no qualification background, what kind of questions visa officer ask about the qualification? Do you know anyone who has same situation like mine? should i go for stamping or wait for some time to get more experience, or do some certifications regarding the work I am doing in the company? thanks in advance.

Since you have MS in Mechanical Engineering and if your Bachelors is also in Engineering, there will be plenty of courses you might have taken that have computer programming like C, Data Structures etc which gives you exposure to IT. And if you meet your job demands - Bachelors in Engineering or related field, you are pretty much covered. Just make sure you convince the Visa Officer you have professional working experience in your field and your academic background matches your job responsibilities. That will definitely convince VO, I was in the similar situation, I also worked as Mechanical Engineer before moving as IT consultant, I didn't face any problem. Hope this helps.

[JoeF]

nothing to serious , prepare ready to answer . fact is more than 50% are non -computer degree holders working in IT

If it is a fact, I am sure you can show us the actual statistics for this, right?

Or did you just make up some number?

[ammu]

Thank you All, really appreciate your help