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by steven2012 3928 days ago
Sorry to be negative, but it will be almost impossible for you to get a job here this way, unless you are from a country that has a flexible work visa arrangement (Canada, Australia, etc). In fact, you could get banned from entering the country for 10+ years if you lie as to your intent for entering the US and you get found out. And if you tell them your intent is to find a job, you will also be denied. It's a no-win situation.

No companies can hire you, unless you already have an existing H1B. If they want to sponsor you, the earliest they could attempt is April 2016, for work in October 2016. And this is if you have a university degree to qualify you for H1B.

You could apply for graduate school, that's probably the easiest way in, and then once you get your degree, you could go on OPT, which gives you 19 months to get an H1B.

Or you could marry someone in the US, but if it's deemed fraudulent, then you would also be barred from entering the US as well.

You could join a large company that has offices where you are, and then transfer to the US on an L1 visa, which would give you a green card very quickly, and then you could quit and do whatever you want afterwards. However, there is the option that the company could take back your green card if you leave too quickly after getting your green card.

Again, sorry to be so negative, but just coming to the US and looking for a job will not work, not in this environment. You need to do it properly, but unfortunately, there is a very slim chance of actually getting a job.

4 comments

To add to that, even if a company is willing to sponsor a H1B visa there's no guarantee that would actually get one. It's lottery because there are too many applications. Without an advanced degree the chances are 40-50% I believe.

I agree that going to university in the US is easiest way, but it's also quite expensive. And there's no guarantee that you would get a visa after that. In fact, many of my friends were forced to go back to their country after finishing their full degree in the US because they couldn't get an H1B, and that includes those who went to highly-ranked universities.

IMO your best chance (besides marriage) may be to 1. Get an advanced degree and 2. Build a highly valuable skillset that US companies are looking for. App/Web development is great, but there are many people who can do that and you'd need to be extraordinary for any startup to go through the trouble of sponsoring an H1B. On the other side of this are PhDs who solve hard problems at big companies. These are more likely to get a visa (in fact, the US is very good at taking away all the best researchers from other countries ;))

The chance without advanced degree is actually about 25% (it has been decreasing every year).
The American wake up.
As an American, if we continue to turn down would-be immigrants like this, we are shooting ourselves in the foot.
As an immigrant, I do think the American immigration system is broken (especially around H1Bs and for US university grads), but just letting anyone in isn't the solution either and would do more harm than good.
OP should apply for the DV lottery. It's a long shot but it could happen.
OP should work for a fully remote company; most pay international workers as contractors.

https://github.com/lukasz-madon/awesome-remote-job

I think that's my main option right now. I'm planning to visit some startups to have interviews, but not sure that it will work. Seems like most startups hire remote workers only from U.S.

BTW, that's an amazing link, thanks a lot for it

Colombia is inelegible for DV lottery.