Relocation allowance for moving O/S?

[smack]

I have been a contractor in a company for a few years, and they have wanted me to join them after about a month in. I had never been to interested, but over time I have been a more significant part of their operations they have been making more noise about it, and my later stance was if you make an good enough offer and relocate me to the US, where they are based, I'll think about it. Well an reasonable (but not great) offer is now on the table, so we are talking.
I have asked for a relocation allowance, which I think they have come in low (early days in the negotiation, and they are talking about I would have to pay it back if I leave within 12 months), but want to know what other US companies offer in the real world for people moving from Europe? What is fair and reasonable to expect them to cover? What conditions (for me) should I make sure are in the contract?
There is no OH and/or children to worry about, I currently rent a furnished property, so I don't have a container of household goods. My thoughts are I would put things in storage for 12 months, and see how it all goes.

Thanks in advance

[worsy]

You need to explain if this is a temp move or do you plan to relocate perm. If temp what is the role going to lead to? Don't forget you will need a visa, most likely will stipulate only that employer too.

[smack]

worsy said:

You need to explain if this is a temp move or do you plan to relocate perm. If temp what is the role going to lead to? Don't forget you will need a visa, most likely will stipulate only that employer too.

Relocate for a permie role. The company is going to sort out the Visa if I agree, but with a E-3 Visa I can move to another company and get a new visa (which isn't my intention, but if the company went belly up for example I have options).

[Matt Harper]

I suspect that there are no hard and fast rules, regarding what is offered in terms of relocation - and offers may well be influenced by where the motivation is coming from. If the petitioner is trying to persuade you to relocate, you are probably in a much stronger negotiating position than if it's the beneficiary urging the employer to play ball and transfer them.

When I moved (albeit back in 2001) it was with a fairly small, privately owned company that had never done anything like this previously. I had left a career in advertising to work for this outfit specifically due to the potential to emigrate to the US, but I really down-played that aspect. They initiated the relocation concept, which gave me a degree of negotiating strength.

They paid for my wife and I to spend a week in the US to 'scope-out' the area we would be moving to. They then covered the entire cost of my L1-A petition and that of the derivative visas for my wife and 19 year-old daughter. Pivotally, they offered me a mortgage, funded by the company, so that I could buy a house immediately. This offer was conditional on me selling my primary home in the UK prior to moving (to show commitment, which wasn't unreasonable). I also had a 2nd property that I derived rental income from, which was excluded from the deal.

They paid for all of my moving expenses, which amounted to around GBP4k to pack ship a 20ft sea-can from W. Yorks, via Thamesport to Miami FL and then handle the customs and ground transportation to my new home. They also covered our outbound travel when we left UK - which included shipping a 100lb German Shepherd Dog.

They provided me with 2 vehicles for personal/work use plus fuel (a quite unusual concession in the US).

I got health insurance for the three of us included and they agreed to 1 coach return flight per year for my wife and me to UK for family visits etc - which we never used in the time I worked there. They made a modest contribution to replacement of electricals - I think it was about $1000.

What they would not commit to was a permanent residency petition - their view being that it was early days - and they didn't want to provide me with an easy escape from their employment. As time passed, this became a major issue for me and was the main reason I ended-up resigning.

The other thing I did was extricate myself from the mortgage after about 12 months, via a re-fi, as my credit was more established by that point and I was really uncomfortable having my employer as my banker too.

Qualifying for E3 is a great advantage (God knows why ozzies get this push) - don't look a gift horse in the mouth!
Hope this gives some degree of perspective.

[andy-xr]

Was offered it in 2012, Bay Area, EU tech company struggling to get people to work for them because of the competition. I'd already worked the UK/EMEA bit, so was going out there 3 weeks out of 4 for 6 months then they wanted to make it more permanent.

I wanted £100k, a full visa, serviced apartment rent and a car paying for 6 months and a flight home with shipping if it didnt work out, and it was the flight home that kind of put the dampeners on anything else, I think they were thinking more I'd sell up and close my mortgage (which I did) and use that money to reinvest into rent and sign over my life to them. What they didnt really think about was the cost differences between Nottinghamshire and San Jose and I didnt like not having a backup plan if it went tits, the visa they were getting for me was dependent on me working for them.

[smack]

Thanks Andy and Matt (sent you a PM), it has given me food for thought.

What are the typical clauses for if you leave early? Not that is my intention, but you have cover all bases.

[mikef]

smack said:

What are the typical clauses for if you leave early? Not that is my intention, but you have cover all bases

The biggie isn't down to contract clauses - it's that if you're on a non-immigrant work visa you have something like 10 days to leave the country. If you have home rental or mortgage commitments and a car lease that can be a bit of a problem

Other than that it's just down to any relocation reimbursement clauses you have chosen to sign up to

[Matt Harper]

smack said:

Thanks Andy and Matt (sent you a PM), it has given me food for thought.

What are the typical clauses for if you leave early? Not that is my intention, but you have cover all bases.

My understanding is that in the case of an L1 petition, if the petitioner fires the beneficiary, they are obliged to pay the costs involved in repatriating the people (not their belongings). This may apply to E3 and H1-B also, but I'm not certain.

If you quit, your visa is nullified immediately and you are required to leave the country within a reasonable amount of time. I don't think there is a specified number of days grace, but I suspect that USICE would be wanting you gone within a month. Technically you are out of status and expected to turn-in your I-94, the minute your employment ends (regardless of the reason).

Another thing to think about might be maintenance of your UK NI contributions. My employer ended my UK employment and stopped paying NI - as did I, which, in hindsight was foolish on my part, because my wife and I are eligible for UK state pensions. We've subsequently made catch-up payments, but it was a more expensive way of doing it over the long-run. Certainly if you are viewing this as a temporary secondment - and you qualify for and are entitled to a UK pension, you should continue to make contributions, wherever you are in the world.

[h0b0]

I moved in 2004 to NJ. My salary was low in the UK but was over doubled when I moved to the US. They paid for all visas and renewals while I was on a visa. They would not talk about green cards until I was 12 months in but then they paid for the green card as well. I got a check for $15k which was taxable. You can claim back tax on any relocation expenses but I moved with 2 bags so there were none. I lived in hotels for 6 months on the company before they suggested it was time to get my own place.

I only planned to be here for 12 months because that was the minimum that I had to stay to keep the relocation cash. But I am still here 11 years later. I did have an employee that returned back to the UK after 12 months and the company paid for everything to be returned and gave him a Job as well. If you get an L1 visa that may be a requirement.