I currently work with Amazon India as a Data Scientist at L4. My fiancé is in the United States and my goal is to move to the US as early as possible (may be in one year). I have the following options with me and I am looking for inputs from this wonderful community to make an informed decision. Please bear with me for the long post. Option:1 Moving to US on L1 through Amazon Eligibility criteria for country to country internal transfer is to work in a team for at least one year in L5. Current plan is to get promoted to L5 in Q3 2021 (my manager is aligned), look for opportunities and move to the US (my manager does not know about this plan). Is it mandatory to work for one year after getting promoted to L5 for country to country transfer? I would be having 5 YOE in total by Q4 2021 and 1 year+ with Amazon (Joined in Aug 2020), how difficult is to get an exception for this criteria assuming I would be getting married in Nov 2021? What would be my realistic timeline to move to the US through this path? Option:2 MS in Data Science I have an admission for a masters program in the US starting Fall 2021. I am able to see a lot of opportunity cost in terms of time, money and energy in this path. I’d probably end up in the similar role after graduation, is this approach worth it? Option:3 Moving to US on L1 through Microsoft I explored opportunities with Amazon and Microsoft in Q2 2020. Microsoft delayed their interview process and interviews were held in Q4 2020 and I have an offer for Data Scientist II position at 62 level. I am expecting the joining date to be in March if I take up the opportunity. Eligibility criteria for country to country internal transfer is to work in a team for at least one year in 62 level. As I will have to spend at least 1 year in the organisation to be eligible for an L1 visa, What would be my realistic timeline to move to the US through this path? Would joining Microsoft increase/improve my chances to move to the US faster compared to moving through Amazon? Option:4 Moving on dependent visa My fiancé is on H1B without i140. She is looking to get her organisation file for GC and get i140 so that I will be able to work in the US if I move on a dependent Visa. But this is a long shot and being worked up on in parallel. I am very confused in choosing the approach to move to the US and any help is highly appreciated. PS: Due to personal priorities, my fiancé moving to India is not an option. #amazon #microsoft #datascience #masters #internationaltransfer #tech
First you should decide if you want to pursue Master or not. If yes do master otherwise move through employer. With L1, you wont be able to change job so you should go with Microsoft as better work culture compare to Amazon.
You basically need to wait just to be eligible for an L1 transfer. Secondly, there are already many people in queue who are trying to go to US via L1 and for that Amazon US should have open roles matching to your profile, after a manager thinks you are a good match they have a complete interview process. So overall, there are so many variables which might make it hard or delay the process, so imo you should choose masters so that you have control over all the factors, and since you already have 5 yoe then there is a good chance of you getting promoted in the next cycle itself.
Masters
Make it a poll
I would strongly advise against option4. If spouse doesn’t have approved I-140, your H4 EAD is way farther than you see.
Masters, if you can get a decent college. It will give better returns in long term. You have a better shot at H1B and can get good joining bonus, new hire RSUs and more options to choose better work. I spent 4 years stuck in L1B at lower salary and as soon as I got H1B got 100% hike. If I had money, would have gone for masters.
Go for Masters if you wanna grow your career in pure Data Science. Otherwise for higher levels you either have to take a manager position or engineering focused roles. There are many jobs in big tech companies that only take MS or PhD for those roles. I have 7+ yoe in DS alongside Masters from top indian institute. But to be honest sometimes i feel like even that is not enough. Because at leadership positions mostly are either MBA or PhD from top universities. I have switched 4 jobs ranging from big tech like microsoft to ai focused startups. And all of my reporting managers were/are PhDs.
Why is your fiancée (she) marrying someone in India, when there are lots of dudes in the US ?
TC?
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Arranged marriage? Masters is the easiest option. Or if you don't mind not working for a year or so and are ok with the power dynamics, dependent visa may be good too