Hi fellow Amazonians, Can someone help me learn a bit about the Green Card policy at Amazon for new college grads (international student) 1. Is there any grace period or wait time before they start the process? 2. Is it true that they initiate Green Card application even before getting H1B? Like while on OPT or OPT extension, assuming there is no backlog for your country. 3. Is it even possible to apply for change of status while still on F1 OPT? I thought that's not but heard some stories, not confirmed. 4. Do you know anyone who has gone through the process and had successfully gotten his GC? If yes , how long did it take, 1 year, 2 years? Thanks a lot folks
Amazon is probably the best place for this. For your questions: 1. Depends on your level and manager but overall it can start in day 1. (It's very common) 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Me and planty of friends from Amazon. Since I'm from a country with no wait time it took 7 months. But this change based on your original country. Good luck!
Are u sure? Last i checked, gc is started only after u r promoted to sde2. College grads come in as sde1 and take around 3 years or more to become sde2.
Not in Amazon any more. But as far as I know this is still the policy as looking as your manager (L6 and above) approve it. I was an L6 when I started, never worked closely with L4 so I don't know (but I doubt that this is different)
Yeah its not a prob if you start as L5 or L6. Dont think its the same for devs who start as sde-1. @OP are you dev?
I am no longer at amazon. The recruiter should be able to tell you though.
They refused to tell. They said once you accept the offer and join, you can discuss it with manager. That's why I am asking about the actual official policy of the company so at least I know I can have a fair discussion with my future manager. If this thing is up to the manager and not a standard policy then it will be hard to negotiate after joining.
Maybe the first thing you should ask yourself is how long do you think you will last in Amazon. Many people experience burnouts. Lots of people leave Amazon in less than 2 years (resign, layoff, fired). If Amazon starts your green card process, you will stuck with them for quite a while. Do you want that? If you are Indian or Chinese, the GC queue is super long, you will be stuck for even longer.
Well if the country is not India and is not China then waiting time is relatively less. That said if they start day 1 then there is a chance you get through with 1 to 2 years max which is not a bad idea. Am I wrong? That's why I am asking. Cuz I don't think any other company does that, i.e GC from day one on OPT