I have been dreaming of this day for so many years now!
My name is Tanya Hayek, I was born and raised in France and went to study Architecture in Lebanon, my country of origin. I spent the most beautiful 7 years of my life there, and while dreaming of living in the US was an old dream of mine, I never really took the time and effort to look into it and how to accomplish it, because it sounded too complicated and impossible if you did have not any «talent». So I decided to travel other parts of the world: France, Australia, French Polynesia, while working as an architect. It was so fulfilling, but during my stay in Tahiti, I felt a bigger call to California and decided it was time to reclaim my dream!
I had heard of Architect-US a few years earlier but I don’t know why I was convinced that it was only a sponsor for students, and as I had graduated since 5 years already, I didn’t think it was possible to get this kind of visa. But I received regular newsletter from them and so I took the time to open and read their website. That’s when I understood they offer the «trainee» program, but still, for me it was too good to be true! So I sent them an email and they replied very fast, answering my doubts and questions and confirming that it was possible for my situation to get a J1 visa sponsor. I couldn’t believe it! I had been sitting on this for 5 years, just because my thoughts blocked me from thinking this dream could be not that hard to achieve! So the only thing I had to do, was to find a company that would accept to hire me! And.. the most difficult part, remake my portfolio from scratch! Fortunately, they have portfolio and resume packages to tailor custom top notch portfolio, and I participated in the Go Portfolio Pro with Patrica, and it was the turning point for me to gain confidence in my work and the way I sell myself.
Once I was 100% confident and sure about my portfolio and resume, I started sending many application to Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, all through Linkedin and Indeed only. I had many positive returns, but not necessarily what I was wanting, so I had to refuse some offers, others wanted me to come within the next week which was impossible for me.. So the process was quite hard but I kept my mind on my goal and I knew that the right opportunity was waiting for me at some time. And one day, I received a message from my current employer asking me my availability for an interview, all went super well ans smooth, and I got the offer I was expecting, in San Francisco!
So at this point, I put Pati and the company in contact so that they can start the process. This was on January 27th, though I though it would take less time as advertised on their website and with the expedite 10 business days, it took about 1month. But good think need time right?
I had my embassy appointment and received my visa on my passeport 3days later! Now I just booked my flight ticket and let’s go to San Francisco!!
