[gregjor]

Looking for a job in the US while visiting on a tourist visa is legally questionable. You're not only asking prospective employers to sponsor you for a limited number of visas that can get complicated and expensive for them to obtain, but you will probably have to leave the US while waiting to get that visa, and maybe explain to USCIS why you were job hunting while in the US on a tourist visa. At the very least you're competing for one of the limited number of H1-B (or other visas that allow working in the US) with a large number of more qualified/experienced candidates.

Sending in resumes and cover letters is not the correct way to search for a job, though it's the most common approach. With no degree and only six months of experience you are entry-level at best. Right now the demand in the US tech industry is for senior-level people. There's no shortage of entry-level US citizens/green card holders looking for first jobs.

You're not doomed, but you should realistically assess where you are in your career (the very beginning) and how that looks to companies desperate for more senior people. Add to that the complications of not having the right to work in the US and you can start to understand why your applications get ignored. The US has limits on H1-B visas, with exceptions for people who have advanced degrees or specialized skills. I can't imagine a company going to the trouble sponsoring a visa for an entry-level candidate. I know at places I've worked candidates who didn't have US work permits were ignored -- it's simply too much trouble to sponsor a visa and not worth it for entry-level/junior positions.

I'm trying to give you helpful advice but I realize I'm painting a bleak picture. Large companies like Facebook don't have a problem attracting candidates and they can sponsor visas for more experienced people (or people with degrees). Smaller and less sexy (not tech-oriented) companies do have trouble attracting candidates, but they are likely unfamiliar with and skittish about hiring a foreigner. Companies used to post "US citizens/permanent residents only" in their job ads but that seems less common now -- perhaps the employers (or recruiters) worry about lawsuits for "exclusionary" hiring practices, or they don't want to take the chance of missing a truly great candidate they might sponsor.

[gregjor]

As a US citizen I haven't needed to get a visa to work in the US, but I did try getting jobs in Europe (UK pre-Brexit, Denmark, Sweden, France) while traveling on a tourist visa. I had almost ten years experience at that time, but was told several times that I was not allowed to even interview for jobs while on a tourist visa, and would have to apply from the US (which I eventually did, and then got a job in England, after two months of fast-tracked work permit paperwork my employer paid for).

I spent six years as a so-called "digital nomad," working for US companies remotely while living overseas. That's also legally questionable but harder for governments to enforce. I suggest you either go back to your home country and apply for US jobs from there (so there's no question about you violating your tourist visa and implicating a prospective employer), or freelancing remotely for US companies for a while, which doesn't require a work permit/visa.

[666b20753a29]

To address the legality of what I'm doing– yes, it's dubious.

Your experience is insighful. Thanks for sharing!

[gregjor]

I think it depends. When you entered the US you got asked the reason for your visit, and you probably said "tourist." If you had said "I'm going to look for and apply for jobs" (or "find someone to marry") you would almost certainly have got turned away. But if you come to the US (or pretty much any country) as a tourist and find a job by accident (or fall in love and get married) there's nothing illegal about that. It comes down to your intent, which is hard to prove.

When you apply for a job while in the US but you don't have a visa that allows work or business, you put the potential employer in a bad position. If they follow up and interview you and proceed with hiring you, they may be party to immigration fraud (more likely they will worry about that, I think actual legal action unlikely). And they will have other legitimate concerns: they will get started on the complex and expensive visa sponsorship process only to have you fail to get the visa (if USCIS asks questions about when you applied for the job), or that you will apply for other jobs because you mainly want the visa, or if you will work for them just long enough to get a visa. Most US companies don't have a lot of experience hiring foreigners so they might not want to take any chances. The companies that do hire a lot of foreigners can pick and choose from a large pool of candidates who want to work in the US.