America

Report on working in the USA by Patricia Sleeman

Visas

For a working visa, apply to US embassy, if you can get your employer to sponsor you, it will help. When it comes to unpaid work experience, no visa is required but be sure to have documentation supporting the fact that you will not get paid while there to present to immigration on your arrival as they may ask for it. The process of obtaining a US visa is long and complicated and it is unwise to make definite plans before the process is complete and a visa issued. 'How To Get A Job In America' describes the current range of visas available, the application process and a list of organisations through which you might apply to simplify the procedure. Otherwise, full details can be obtained from the Visa Branch of the US Embassies.

UK
American Embassy, 24 Grosvenor Square, WlA 1AE.
Tel: 0171-499 9000

Ireland
American Embassy, 42 Elgin Road, Dublin 4
Tel. 353 1 668 8777

Visa Card Dept
Hume House, Dublin 4
Tel. 353 1 6608922

Work Experience 

This is relatively easy to get in America with many large institutions having internship programs such as NARA. Contact the organisation and see what kind of program they have to offer, I imagine it is usually unpaid.

Where to look: The Society of American Archivists (SAA) have a page where recent vacancies for jobs are listed, some are temporary contracts see http://www.archivists.org/employment/index.html

Places

NARA, State archives, Historical Societies, specialist repositores, examples being the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives or the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Grants for studying and working

Fulbright scholarships, Society of Archivists International panel bursary. The SAA offer some grants directed at people already working/studying in the United States.

Useful URLS

List of repositories: http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html

Last modified 07/09/2004