Since I finished my architecture studies in april 2016 I always had in mind the idea of living in New York for a while. Many people thought I was crazy because it was impossible to get a job and a working visa in this country and they tried to persuade me to look for a job in some other place. But I never gave up!
I worked for some months in a few offices in Madrid and collaborated with some architects but the idea of living my «american dream» was still there. In the sumer of 2017 I made the decision: I was definitely going to New York city. I prepared everything with my boyfriend, who is architect too and shared my dream, and we planned our trip. We visited the city for about ten days last October and presented our work and portfolio in some offices. It was not an easy adventure because most of the companies did not allowed us to go into the office without a previous interview or an appointment. There were many moments of desperation and we thougt maybe these people that discouraged us were right.
The day before going back to Spain we had an interview with Ten Arquitectos. I knew and admired their work and I definitely loved the office and the people working there. They are almost a family. I met there Nuria Heras another spanish architect who was also working with a J1 visa and told us about the company that helped her with the process.
I came back to Spain and waited for Ten arquitectos response. During this time, I tried to gather all the required documents so the application could be faster. In about a month, I had the final approval from the company so I started with the visa application. They helped me with the documents, solved my doubts and contacted with the company. My boyfriend finally got a job in another company too so we both started with the visa application at the same time. He will be flying to Manhattan in a few weeks!
Last week I received the last signed documents and I visited the american embassy. The process was easy and I had absolutely no problem. They sent me my passport and my J1 visa yesterday and I am flying tomorrow to Manhattan!
I will be joinning Ten arquitectos’s team next Monday!
