I seem to be missing something on how I can move to the US. - I was in a non-engineering role first and was told VISAs only were sponsored for technical roles - I moved to FAANG and to a Data Engineering team and then got told only SDE roles were sponsored. - I looked at the lottery program but the UK is ineligible. My FAANG friend from Dublin managed though as Ireland is eligiblez I dont want to work in finance so living in London seems to be career limiting if I cant move to the US somehow. I am pretty stuck on what I can do to get to the US. I have a solid ivy league education and 5+ years ‘branded’ firm experience so I am not sure what I am missing still? Happy to PM further details. Any ideas?
Amazon is pretty stingy when it comes to Visa sponsorship. move to fb or some other big tech US company in London and make sponsorship a topic of discussion during interview with recruiter.
Nonsense, I’ve been sponsored by Amazon and I know folks in Jr, non technical roles, who have been transferred to US with an L1
@Yd55 - yes but what role please? @HoTT - what role? When I look at the portal most DE/BIE roles are not sponsored. Only SDE (from the technical side), PM (L6+) and DS (PHD+) are sponsored.
what do you mean with lottery program actually?
I guess H1B lottery?
Assuming you are a UK citizens, look for all other options you might have, perhaps they are better than H1-B. Unless you are a naturized citizen then country of birth rules apply.
Step 1: move to Tijuana
You can try Canada and after getting citizenship in Canada, working US is easy. If you get L1 via F or G , your working permit is going to be tied to your company so as you laid off, everything will be over. However it might be possible to jump H1B after L1. Or you can try some masters program just to get 3 years of Stem Opt followed by H1b lottery.
I am due to complete a UK STEM Masters next year. I looked into US Masters and I would need to move there / leave work. Online Masters don’t count (eg Georgia Tech). Facebook and Google have some roles in London and Dublin but it’s not easy to get in tbh.
You can apply for a msc program in US and transfer your credits? That way you are not going to be a student in US for a long time.Win-win
Another option is to study in the US on F-1 and then work a couple of years on OPT while applying for H1b. The route via Canada was already mentioned and is a viable, though lengthy option. I came via O-1 visa myself. Something else to consider...
I tried applying for roles in Canada. Never get replies. I guess they see London and auto dinge.
Work at a company willing to relocate you. Sounds like you invested too much in Amazon. If you worked for Google in London for a year or two with high performance I’m sure you could find a team willing to take you in the US. Other companies too of course.
Yes. I did. I got high performance at Amazon in my other teams. Until I got a bad manager recently and probably will go on PIP and need to leave which means starting over basically. The issue with Google in London is there are barely any good roles. The Software Eng ones are usually really specific eg mobile, the non technical ones generally want prior experience of that role (eg Program Manager) or the pay is really not good at all. I’m wondering if interning next summer is a good idea and then ‘staying on’. Since I have 6 yoe now this may not be an option though.
L1 visa
Do you know a list of firms that I can look into which have this option (beyond the obvious ones like Google)?
I am pretty sure Amazon has this option. It’s up to management - you have to convince them you are good enough. But moving within company is a lot easier than finding a new job who’s willing to sponsor you
The main issue I face is several banks and finance firms offer roles and US transfers but I really don’t want to work in finance. There are tech firms in London but Dublin is the HQ (I apply there but never hear back). There are also much fewer roles in London vs the US (where there are also many offices) so I’m kinda stuck. It is weird because when I use freelance websites or similar a lot of US companies like my profile and hire me but without physically being there this journey is limited too.
Marry a citizen