
Ask HN: It is difficult to find a company to sponsor a visa for a junior dev? - hecontreraso
I&#x27;m a Colombian rails developer (6 months of experience), and my biggest dream is to move to bay area and get a job as a developer. However, I&#x27;m not senior yet.<p>I&#x27;m planning to travel in october to have a lot of interviews, but some close friends to me have told me that the companies just serve as sponsors for really experienced developers.<p>I&#x27;m thinking I could work remotely in the months that the visa request is processed.<p>Do you think that I could have a possibility to get a job in this circunstances?<p>Thanks a LOT for any help
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horofox
US H1B visa sucks, forget it. Unless you got a PhD or something better...
companies aren't that willing to go through the bureaucracy and investment to
hire you. Also, your wife/significant other will have no rights there, also,
you are tied to the company...

I'm from Brazil. I gave up trying to go to US and then applied to a couple of
companies in Europe and got the job. The visa here is good(Germany), my wife
can work, public services are good and I can get permanent residence in 2
years, citizenship in 8.

I still have the dream to work in the US, but only when they deal with their
poor VISA crap. After I saw how things are good for immigrants here in Europe,
even if I got an offer to work there for Facebook, I wouldn't go. The US
government have to get their stuff straight.

But yeah, I think you need more experience. Talk in events, have a nice
github, improve your english, level up your game... and keep applying to
companies!

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mayi12345
I actually forgot to mention that if you have a Master's degree, the chance
for you to get an H1B work visa increases from 1/3 to 1/2 (based on these past
2 years status). But keep in mind that even your company hires you, the
company has to file your petition by between April 1-7, and if you are lucky
to win the H1b lottery, then you can start working ONLY after October 1. The
problem (that is the hard part) is: not many employers are willing to wait for
6 months for you to start working. But again, this kind of logistics can
always work out if you are valuable enough for your employer.

~~~
gusmd
[...] if you have a Master's degree or higher from an US university [...]

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stevewepay
Don't waste your time flying in October. Companies will be applying for H1Bs
in April, and they usually run out on the 1st day. And even if you get an H1B
in April, you can't start until the following October. Very few companies
(probably zero) will allow you to work remotely until you get your H1B and
then can start working.

Your best chance is to get into a Master's program and then apply for
internships, and eventually a job that way. Then they can apply for your
behalf while you are on OPT, rather than randomly while you're in Columbia.

Your other option is to get a job locally at a big Silicon Valley company,
like Facebook or Google and then transfer to the US. If you are manager, then
you can get your L1 visa which is really fast.

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atrust
I did it the other way around. I started to work as a freelancer for quite a
large company. After a while, they offered me a full-time job under the J-1
visa. During the J-1, they applied for an H1-B for me. My H1-B application
failed in the first year, so they had to extend J-1 (6 months is the maximum
allowed extension). They applied for another H1-B and I finally got it. My J-1
expiration time was somewhere in August, so I had to go back to my home
country. I had one month and half to get an H1-B stamping and during this
period I worked remotely. I got back to US in the early of October, but now
with an H1-B stamping.

P.S. The reason they made me a J-1 visa initially is because it was the
fastest way to get me to US.

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mayi12345
true and false.

One important factor: depends on how well you do in the interview & how much
you know about what you know. I am an environmental engineer turns into
healthcare startup person, I got job offers before I quitted my job (and of
course they sponsored visa to work in the US). But that said you have to do a
lot of additional learning to make sure you know what you are talking about.

In addition, while experience is a factor, it all depends on whether you: 1.
have 10 years of experience and repeat doing what you have learned 20 times;
2. convert the 6-month experience into infinite values to the company. So make
sure you show your passion and ability to perform like a learning machine :)

