Complicated Situation

U

Urkel

Hi all,

I have a friend who is in a difficult situation and was wondering if anyone could provide some advice.

First of all my friend is an option market maker trading on the floor of an major option exchange. My friend is not from this country(went to college in the US) and my friend's current firm is sponsering my friend's work visa. My friend has told me that in order to obtain a green card my friend must stay with current firm for 1.5 more years.

My friend is a female and wants to (I think needs to) get another job but the difficulty of having another firm sponser her visa is a major roadblock. Right now most floor based option market making firms are facing hard times as it is and I dont think it is a good idea for her to continue to work on the floor of an exchange.

What are here options? Does anyone have ideas about paths she should take to get out of here current positions and be able to stay in the country if she quits?

Also, she is an above average trader, being able to hold her own making markets in a pit full of guys speaks alot of here skills as well i think. On the downside she cannot prove her "option trading skills" with a p&l sheet because her the entire group trades the same position - meaning all of the trades that they do, say in eurodollar options are all grouped together into one position. To top it off here boss who also owns part of the firm is one of the worst market makers yet trades the largest size in the entire pit lol. So even when she makes good trades that make money throughout the day her boss literally wipes them out on a consistent basis with idiotic trades.

Any thoughts on this????
 
Quote from skepticaltrader:

She needs to marry one of those traders on the floor.
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Even though you might take that as a stupid response. I have been looking up things on moving to other countries, and that response is more true than you'd believe.
 
Quote from JMowery1987:

Even though you might take that as a stupid response. I have been looking up things on moving to other countries, and that response is more true than you'd believe.
More...


Amen!!!!
 
Quote from skepticaltrader:

She needs to marry one of those traders on the floor.
More...


Ok ok knew that was coming. But are there anyways to get around the visa sponsership with a different firm?
 
My apologies if this sounds severe. One way out for her is to take a job with an investment bank, potentally not as a trader, say a trader support person. I understand fully that she will not be making the money, and the position will not have much upward potential. So, in a word, she is sacrificing a part of her career. But, with an investment bank, her visa situation will be taken care of (with ease), and if she negotiate upon joining, she will be eligible to apply for a green card with firm sponsorship.

Since she is an Option MM, there are firms out there that support MMs that will take her. It is a trade-off for her to continue her career in trading (a highly unstable career path) and still have immigration situation stable.

Rufus

Quote from Urkel:

Hi all,

I have a friend who is in a difficult situation and was wondering if anyone could provide some advice.

First of all my friend is an option market maker trading on the floor of an major option exchange. My friend is not from this country(went to college in the US) and my friend's current firm is sponsering my friend's work visa. My friend has told me that in order to obtain a green card my friend must stay with current firm for 1.5 more years.

My friend is a female and wants to (I think needs to) get another job but the difficulty of having another firm sponser her visa is a major roadblock. Right now most floor based option market making firms are facing hard times as it is and I dont think it is a good idea for her to continue to work on the floor of an exchange.

What are here options? Does anyone have ideas about paths she should take to get out of here current positions and be able to stay in the country if she quits?

Also, she is an above average trader, being able to hold her own making markets in a pit full of guys speaks alot of here skills as well i think. On the downside she cannot prove her "option trading skills" with a p&l sheet because her the entire group trades the same position - meaning all of the trades that they do, say in eurodollar options are all grouped together into one position. To top it off here boss who also owns part of the firm is one of the worst market makers yet trades the largest size in the entire pit lol. So even when she makes good trades that make money throughout the day her boss literally wipes them out on a consistent basis with idiotic trades.

Any thoughts on this????
More...
 
Quote from rufus_4000:

....

Since she is an Option MM, there are firms out there that support MMs that will take her. It is a trade-off for her to continue her career in trading (a highly unstable career path) and still have immigration situation stable.

Rufus
More...

I agree. I know several former Option MM people and other MM people that got out of that line either voluntarily or because their job went away.
This was a good career path in the early 1980's - perhaps. Today it is not. Unless you have a direct stake in the firm and can directly profit from your actions it is best to exit - and actually even if you have a stake in the firm since this area does not have a lot of potential as far as I can see ....
 
I couldn't agree more, floor MM for practically anything (NYSE, futures, options) have been in drastic decline for the last 5 years or so. I was walking by the 10 year pit a while back (although I am a member, I rarely go to the floor any more), and the pit traders just look at each other during the open, and clicking away at the screen. They might as well be looking at a screen in a bar. The eDPM program on the CBOE, and the RMM on the PCX implies that an automated market maker can make quotes in hundreds of names in all 6 markets, with ease. Soon, with the new NYSE Hybrid 2, the floor guys will be reduced to clerks, with all the market making algorithms driven from upstairs.

Then again, I have been predicting the death of floor for the last 5 years, and somehow they managed to struggle on.

Quote from prt_systems:

I agree. I know several former Option MM people and other MM people that got out of that line either voluntarily or because their job went away.
This was a good career path in the early 1980's - perhaps. Today it is not. Unless you have a direct stake in the firm and can directly profit from your actions it is best to exit - and actually even if you have a stake in the firm since this area does not have a lot of potential as far as I can see ....
More...
 
Quote from Urkel:

Ok ok knew that was coming. But are there anyways to get around the visa sponsership with a different firm?
th
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i suggest that she offers to pay all costs associated with the visa. furthermore she should offer to find the lawyer who handles her case especially if the co. is not use to people with her status. this will increase the number of companies who might be interested in her.



good luck.
 
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