
Ask HN: Do you rank local applicants higher? - latam_rejectee
I live in South America and I keep getting nice emails from companies that I applied to saying I have a great set of skills and experience but unfortunately they won&#x27;t be able to invite me for interview. Even when they prominently display &quot;visa sponsor&quot; in their job ads.<p>I&#x27;m thinking about accepting ANY job that will allow immigrate to Canada&#x2F;Europe just so I can even be considered for interviewing at the places I want to work at.
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brudgers
The question reflects one of the risks a business might associate with visa
sponsorship...the candidate accepts the job primarily for the visa and has
less inclination to continue employment following relocation.

Combined with the risk that the employee decides that life as an _ex patriot_
is not what they want, relocating a candidate can have a different risk-reward
profile from the company's perspective.

For what it is worth, if immigration is is the goal, then it can often be done
without lining up employment first.

Good luck.

~~~
latam_rejectee
Thanks, great insights.

To be honest, accepting any job is a thought that comes to my mind out of
frustration, not plan A.

I'm coming to the conclusion that overseas candidates must have way more
skills than local ones to offset the risks you mentioned.

I want to be part of the candidate pool that gets taken seriously but it seems
I'll need to be physically close for that.

~~~
brudgers
There is another factor at play. It is easy for people to apply for jobs
anywhere in the world. Your "plan from frustration" is based on this. For
specialized roles or unique skills or high level positions, the trouble of
wading through foreign candidates is worth it. For a production
Rails/Java/C#/Javascript position, it probably is not because someone wanting
to relocate for that type of position is primarily applying because they
"think they might possibly" want to relocate.

If you really want to live/work in Canada or Europe, pick one and take the
steps to live there on your own and worry about the job further down the line.
Having a visa already probably gives you a leg up.

