Ok ok ok, let’s finally talk about a topic that has been on top of my blog requests for a while. This is a dense topic and, as I mentioned a million times in related posts, I can only speak from my own experience. But, since you all have tirelessly been asking for this, let’s go! Let me try explaining and pointing out to you all options and steps to get a work visa in America.
This topic is tricky! Laws can change from country to country and that is why I must make this clear: I can only speak from my personal experience and all the research I have done through the 7 years I have lived in New York City.
Let’s be real here, getting a work visa or a work authorization is not but it, certainly, seems like rocket science. Counting on all the documentation, lawyer meetings, and immigration process you have to get through, if you can fully understand the process, then rocket science will look like a piece of cake to you… the first piece of advice I will give you regarding this matter is: to get a lawyer. Do NOT think you can do this on your own because the chances of screwing up are about 1000%. You know those things in life you just can’t be cheap about it? This is one of them.
Let’s dig into the first work visa option and the first reason why you should get a lawyer.
Through School
If you have read my blog post, IMMIGRANT SERIES - Starting a Job in a Student Visa, you would be familiar with how this process works here.
I decided to start school first and, when it was time for my internship class, I finally got my work authorization. The requirements are actually not that complicated, the process is what takes time, cost money, and effort to get done.
When you are in America with a student visa, you cannot simply decide that you want to request work authorization and get a social security number. If things were that easy then any student that comes here for one semester would do it - not that this would be a bad idea… I actually believe that it should be like that, but what the hell do I know…
On a student visa, you need to be registered for an internship class and you need to have a job offer to be able to request work authorization. Once you have those two main things, then your school should be able to provide you with the paperwork and information needed to be able to submit the work authorization request. This is a process called OPT - Optional Practical Training.
The OPT can happen in two ways:
During school when you are registered for your internship class.
After you graduate from school.
The difference between these two options of OPT is that, when applying for OPT before graduation, you still need to be a full-time international student and this OPT is only valid for 3 months - which you have the option to renew and apply for the process all over again (including paying for it again) after you are done with school. While in the OPT after graduation you, obviously, don’t need to be in school anymore and the work authorization is valid for a year.
I know that the post-graduation OPT seems a little more compelling and, when opting for this option you only have to apply for the process once and you don’t need to have a job offer, but I couldn’t wait to get my work authorization and start working - plus I had a job offer that I loved and wanted to throw myself in it.
Let me repeat this: I can only speak from my personal experience! People are different, what worked for me might not work for you. Keep that in mind when making decisions because each step you take HAS to be perfectly calculated. You cannot leave room for error when working with your immigration status.
Through Work
When directly applying for a work visa you need to be:
Already working with a company and have work authorization.
Not working and don’t have work authorization, but have a job offer from a company.
There is an H1 type of visa that you can apply for even if you have none of the above, but this work visa is pretty much winning the lottery. The US distributes about 20 thousand visas every year and there are, obviously, millions of people applying for them. So you need to be a very (but VERY) lucky person to get that visa as well as a very organized, disciplined, and well-educated person because the application process happens only through a certain time of the year and you need to show a huge list of paperwork that includes your background education - don’t even think about applying for it if you don’t have, at least, a Masters degree, years of experience in a well-known company and held an important position in that company.
When you are applying for a work visa under options 1 or 2 listed above, then things can be a little less complicated, but they are still quite complicated, the process is long, and expensive, and don’t forget that you can always be denied.
When a company decides to hire you and sponsor your work visa, the company needs to prove why they are hiring you instead of an American person. The company needs to show that they are big enough to employ an immigrant and prove that the company’s revenue can afford all the current employees as well as the visa application and process - yes, technically the entire application, including the expenses, needs to come from the company hiring you and not yourself.
When you already have work authorization and you are currently working for a company, the chances of you not being denied your visa are bigger and your case is certainly stronger because you already are working for the company, you have accomplished a series of tasks within the company, you want to grow your position in the company and you can prove that your work helped the company growth - you have a number to show immigration, which makes the case much stronger since this is one of the main things they want to see.
If you don’t have work authorization and you are not currently working for the company, the chances of the company turning you down are, most likely, about 2000%. I mean, here we are, at your job interview, the manager interviewing you likes you and your work/education background, but the company needs to sponsor your visa, wait months until you can start working, and risk having you denied a work permit. Why would they even waste their time? This is a very complicated way to get a work visa, but not impossible - never lower your hopes!
Through Work Before Arriving in the US
I have friends that have done it and it seems to be much more simple than the rest of the visas out there. To get a work visa before arriving in the US, all you need is to be currently employed by an international company that holds business in the US, be working for the company for a certain amount of time (show years of work experience), and be in an important position within the company. Do you see? Much easier than the rest of the visas, LOL!
This seems to be the most effective way to get a work visa as well as the safest way because the chances of being denied are much smaller. But, obviously, it has its perks because if your goal is to move to America, then you need to start your career with a clear state of mind and focus on not accepting any kind of job anywhere. You need to be focused on working for an international company that can open the door for you to, eventually, move here.
It can take years until the company decides to send you to the US and you will always be at risk of not having this opportunity but, as I said, this seems to be the most effective way of getting a work visa.
There are other ways and other visa options when we are talking about immigration laws but, again, I can only speak from my personal experience. These are all the options I have bumped into for the past seven years of living in NYC.
Regardless of which option best suits your situation, I don’t think I can state this enough but if I can give you one piece of advice about any immigration law is: get a lawyer! Don’t go through the process by yourself thinking that you can nail it. Believe me, I have seen friends trying and screwing everything up. Sometimes, you might not even get screwed up, but the chances of making mistakes and delaying the process are bigger than you imagine. Never forget to do as much research as possible and hire the right help.
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