I-360, Special Immigrant Religious Workers Petition
  • Itie_Church_OrganistItie_Church_Organist
    Posts: 2
    Hi,

    I'm new to this forum, and i hope this post won't be considered inappropriate.

    I'm Italian with Albanian origins, 24 years old, catholic.
    I got my Bachelor's degree in pianoforte at the local conservatory, the "Conservatorio statale di musica Giuseppe Tartini" of Trieste, the city I live in, three months ago (on the 22nd of February, 2013, to be more precise).

    I am a church organist and choir director also, although i do not hold any degrees more than that I indicated.
    I've been practicing the organ for almost 10 years now, i began playing it on a Malvestio pipe organ, 1895 built, in the main church of my parish (Servola, in Trieste). I'm also a director of a couple of church choirs.

    As the discussion title may show, i'm looking forward for a chance to get there, in the US, to work.
    I've been living in Italy for many years, but, besides the material fact of the poorness of local parishes, I got bored with the many difficulties musicians encounter here day by day.
    I've been addicted to your culture, US democracy and meritocracy, and the style of life since i was a teenager.
    So I'm looking forward to fulfill this dream of mine, and i want to offer some parish my disponibility and my skills.
    I know at the beginning it will be difficult; but I have already been an immigrant once, it doesn't scare me at all.

    Is there any chance that any of you may know that i can get there via a I-360 visa for religious workers?
    Would you know of any parish that would help me get there?
    Can you indicate me any internet sites, message me phone numbers of people or parishes interested in the services I offer?
    I offer professional help, i want to underline this, I'm a serious worker and a professionist.
    I can send recorded tracks of me playing and conducting, and whatever may be needed.
    If you message me, I can send you my skype address, for a video-call.

    I'm not even looking for a "well-paid" job at the very beginning.
    Actually the most important thing to me is to try to get there in a regular, legal way.
    I can be helpful for parishes which have choirs that want to grow: I'm pianist, organist, director, arranger, composer, have a great sight reading.
    Or I could be helpful to organists and/or directors, that needs assistants in their parishes.
    A room to sleep in, a lunch and a dinner, and the possibility to collect some money just to buy me a ticket back, whenever my American Dream ends up in a nothing of fact (hope it won't) is all of what i need for the first months.

    I have no family to take care of, so I can fly there as soon as someone wants to offer me an interwiev for a position available.
    I hope none will get offended of this request of mine; I've seen some posts regarding positions offered, and wanted ones. So I decided to write down my request here too.
    I could write a lot more, about my tasks, my proficiencies, and all of the rest; but my message is already too long.
    I'm a willing person, and a handy one too: please contact me..

    Thanks in advance!
  • jj_catholicjj_catholic
    Posts: 10
    wow, most people including me, would pay, if i have the money, to go to italy.
    goodluck to you.
  • Itie_Church_OrganistItie_Church_Organist
    Posts: 2
    cheers jj

    LoL, as a tourist I hope...

    I hope you don't seriously mean it, I would exchange all of my current positions with a single one of yours (if you have one as I may guess); just buy yourself a ticket to get here.

    Only organists of the cathedrals of the main cities (though also not them all) in Italy get a regular salary. The one we had here used to get around 700 bucks a month; paid from our municipality, because the church wasn't going to pay him; this could be considered a medium-high salary according to our national standards. He gave 350 bucks every month to the nearby friars that provided him with a single-room small apartment.
    He was expected to attend to his duties for more than 15 hours the week in the church; could only survive giving private lessons, barely had the time to practice his own repertoire.
    So he left and better went to Germany, where he now is a happy organist somewhere near Duesseldorf if I remember correctly.

    (And this one I just told is very similar to my story).

    Italy is a great place for a visit, not to live in, especially nowadays with the economical crisis ongoing et cetera, and particularly not the best place if you're a musician.

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