Rebbles

Thanks Adam. Yes you know the ones. The sales techniques were ridiculous. I read somewhere someone's complaint that they were "selling a dream that doesn't exist" and that exactly what it was.... Wild promises and getting you all excited about living there whilst not really dealing in details or facts at all. The guy took barely any information from me, and yet was able to tell me i score a "9.8" and that there are employers lining up to pay me $100k and more. And the flirting!!!! I hope nobody falls for this stuff! The website under the old name is still up and running though i think...... I'm reasonably sure there is no other option at the moment other than 457 (except perhaps a student visa) but I'd love to be wrong about that! I'll drop you a pm if that's ok. Sounds like the guys here rate your advice!

Verystormy, thanks to you too... You got in whilst i was typing! Yes, i'm definitely avoiding! And yes, I'll start doing my research on 457 and get the ball rolling on that without feeling the pressure of July as there's nothing i can do about it anyway..... And also keep fingers crossed for some States putting my occupation back on their lists in July for 190 sponsorship..... Not holding my breath on that one though. So annoying after paying 2x skills assessment fees!!!

Thanks so much for your replies! Maggiemay24, there's about as much chance of me getting a job offer before July as there is of England winning the World Cup :wacko: So i guess there's zero chance of me being able to lodge a visa application before July, and signing up with an agent isn't going to change that?.. And i am pretty sure that no States have started sponsoring Contract Administrator again yet, so there's no chance of that either. So it sounds like there's nothing i or an agent can do to avoid it if the CSOL changes in July, and I'll just have to hope it doesn't... So it sounds like that agent's promise was an empty one (you should have heard the promises!.....) He said that as soon as i signed up with them they'd lodge an application, so i wouldn't need to worry about CSOL changing. I thought that sounded unlikely as i was pretty sure that being able to make an application was dependent on employer sponsorship already being in place. He made a lot of promises that sounded too good to be true...that was the only one i vaguely hoped might actually be true! Adam Grey, yes I'm definitely avoiding, thanks! I'm not sure of the etiquette of "naming and shaming" and of course i don't know for sure that they're bad'uns because i didn't go far enough to find out to my detriment, but I'm pretty sure that if I'd handed over £2500 it would've been the last I'd have heard of it. I don't want others to be sucked in..... But there are quite a lot of horror stories on the web about them already.... I thought i remembered the guy saying they were MARA registered, but i can't see anything about it on their website, so maybe i heard him wrong on that one...maybe it was some other acronym. Thanks again for your quick replies and advice!

Hi everybody, I have a feeling this is gonna be a long post so apologies in advance!!! If you can't be bothered with the life story, skip to the end!! :rolleyes: Any advice or experience on any part would be awesome!...... Quick(ish) background.... I figured ages ago that my only visa options were 190 and 457. I did a skills assessment ages ago for Program or Project Administrator (based on a previous job because I had been in my current one less than 12 months at the time) but it came back negative because they decided my qualifications were not highly relevant enough. I was kinda distraught! As soon as I'd completed 12 months in my current job, I did another skills assessment for Contract Administrator (based on this job) and it came back positive. I was over the moon.... For 2 minutes until I got straight on the internet to take the next step and found the occupation had disappeared from all State lists! Kinda distraught again! Figured the only option left was 457 but didn't feel confident of my chances to get employer sponsorship at that point as i only had c.18 months' experience in my role. Plus for 190 I had been confident that i knew the requirements inside out, but for 457 I didn't really know much at all, so didn't feel confident to start again at that point... So I decided to spend a few more months building up more experience and getting another qualification relevant to my role, to keep strengthening the CV.... The other day I decided it was time to kick-start it again, so did a free online assessment thingummy. Had a chat with a sales chap and he made it all sound virtually guaranteed and, I think, used some pretty unprofessional sales techniques. So did a bit of googling and found that particular company has a pretty rubbish reputation for poor service and unethical practices... Lucky escape probably! Anyway, finally getting to the point!.... Something the guy said did make me think though... He said that come July my occupation could be taken off the 457 list too. And i must confess, that hadn't even occurred to me, despite the fact I'd had exactly that disappointment once already! I had been half hoping that it would go back onto the State sponsorship lists; it hadn't even entered my head that it it could be taken off the 457 list instead!!! But the other thing the guy said was that as long as I'd started an application (meaning as long as I'd signed up to pay his company £2500!?!) before July, I'd be ok and it wouldn't matter what they decided to do with the list... So my questions are: Is he right that if I've signed up with an agent before July, I won't need to worry about any list changes in July? (I was pretty determined to go it alone before, as agents seem just so expensive... But now I think I'd happily pay up if it means avoiding the possibility of all hope finally being lost forever!!...as long as the agency is reputable of course!) Is there something I can do for myself quickly (before July!?!) to start an application to put myself safe from list changes, without an agent? Is it possible to start anything without a job offer with sponsorship? Does anyone have any thoughts on what's likely to happen with the lists in July - are occupations likely to go back onto State sponsorship lists? Are occupations likely to come off the 457 list? Does anyone have any thoughts on the use of agents for 457 visas? (Sorry if that topic has already been done to death!!..) If you have gotten to the end of this post....you deserve a medal! Thank you! And massive thanks in advance to anyone who's able to share any thoughts! Cheers!!!! :wink: