Are you an international student finding it difficult to secure your dream job in the United State of America?
Are you an artisan (a skilled worker in any field), a religious worker or a sports person with talents looking to find your dream job in the US?
Are you a fresh graduate looking for Visa Sponsorship in the United States?
Are you are looking for job in the United States with companies that offer visa sponsorship and relocation support?
Searching for a dream job for both technical and non-technical staff is a hectic, time consuming and tedious process. It involves detailed approach of researching opportunities, networking, strategic application and preparing for interviews. Hence this blog is a step-by-step guideline down the part of successful job application with Visa Sponsorship. Seat tight as we take you on a tour with detailed precision in securing your dream job.
HOW CAN I SECURE A JOB THAT WILL SPONSOR MY US VISA?
(Application Process, Steps and Overview)
Below are your guides to thriving the United States job market, getting a job that is tailored to your application and securing your sought-after visa sponsorship.
- Self-Evaluation
For a swift navigation through the United States job search process, you need to identify your skills and have a set career goals and objective. These are things one need to achieve, be resulted oriented and also be ready to work with integrity in an environment that aligns with your expertise. Determine the type of job and work environment that align with your expertise.
- Be Proactive: By maintaining proactive approach, you can navigate US Job search processes and thus up your chances of finding your dream job opportunity.
- Be Result-Oriented: Focusing on achieving specific, measurable outcomes or goals, a strategy that concentrates on reaching particular outcomes or results is known as a result-oriented approach. This method is goal-oriented and necessitates a precise comprehension of the intended outcomes. It entails creating a plan of action, establishing specific, quantifiable targets, and regularly monitoring your progress. When using the result-oriented method, you would instead need to go backward. The procedure is put in place to make sure that targets are reached after the desired outcome, or target, has been established.
- Dive into the world of tech: With recent developments where artificial intelligence is almost taking over the job of men, Identity and research tech skills are in demand in your chosen field, dive into the world of technology (Cloud Computing, Software Engineering, Data Analytics, Cyber Security and System Analytics).
- Boost your level of certification and qualification:
Take more online courses and get more professional certification to increase your qualification and chances of securing a job with visa sponsorship. Most tech related certifications and business courses can be taken from the following trainers.
- Coursera
- edX
- LinkedIn Learning
- Udemy
- Akanne Academy
- Alison
- Google Digital Garage
- Open2Study
- Simplilearn
- Aim for appropriate employers
In your quest to direct application to prospective employer and enhance your chances of employment, your applications should be targeted to companies with history of previous visa sponsorship.
Look up and navigate through online job portals (e.g. LinkedIn, Indeed, Jobberman etc.) industry reports, and professional networks to gather information about job posting and visa sponsorships. Below are key phrases to look up to when searching for work visas
- H-1B Persons in Specialty Occupation
- H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Workers
- H-2B Temporary or Seasonal Nonagricultural Workers
- H-3 Trainees (other than medical or academic)
- L Intracompany Transferees
- Create a compelling a resume/curriculum vitae and cover letter
Your resume and application should be tailored to suit your intended job application description. A compelling resume targeted to your prospective employer and sponsor should highlight your career objective, relevant skills, educational qualifications, work experiences, certifications and achievements.
Your resume should be written professionally in a format with each sub-heading highlighted to show your employer a new detail is been written; it should be comprehensive yet concise (not really more than a page), this is to enable employer read through.
Your cover letter on the other hand should be addressed to the Hiring Manager or Human Resource Manager as the case may be. The reason why you are interested in the vacancy should be clearly stated. Explain why your years of experience and expertise has made you an ideal candidate for the position.
- Indulge in strategic application
After you might have made effective use of career pages and professional networks to find job openings, read through the call for application documents, skills required and job description, tailor your resume and cover letter to suit the position advertised. Explain how your soft skills, experiences and objective match the job requirement.
Your application process should be inline with the application instruction as advertised, all spaces with asterisks (*) must be filled and necessary documents attached.
- Interview Preparation
When preparing for an interview, search for the company policy, it’s working conditions, types of services it offers or products it produces and markets; this is to be pre-informed on the types of questions you are to expect. These questions might include:
What are your salary expectations?
Ans: I conducted some research before attending this interview and the salary range is between (Give the range as researched). Then you might want to state that you believe you are worth an amount stated in your range based on your experience and the value I can add to your team. State that for that amount, you will make sure that your employers see a positive return on their investment.
Also avoid talking about your personal problems or issues you have going on outside of work, instead focus on the positive and how you can add value to the company in the role.
- Seek Professional Guidance.
You may wish to consider working with a career counselor or coach who will help tailor your resume to suit the application prerequisite giving room to an improved chance of securing a job offering visa sponsorship in the United States.
In lieu of the above, you may wish to leverage resources offered by career centers to level up your application in your job niche.
For students: As an international student in the United States, finding a job depends solely on two factors
- OPT (Optional Practical Training):
Once you have finished your first year, you can find a job in a company and in a field that is related to something you study, this is open to undergraduate and graduate students with F-1 status who have completed or have been pursuing their degrees for one academic year are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work for one year on a student visa towards getting practical training to complement their education
- CPT (Curricular Practical Training):
This is a work opportunity that is tied into your curriculum, for the curricular practical training, students demand for the opportunity from their coordinator. This gives international students authorization to gain employment training and to work in paid internship positions.
CPT provides temporary employment authorization for F-1 visa non-immigrant foreign students while enrolled in a college-level degree program. Students have a chance to work full-time (more than 20 hours per week) or part-time (20 hours or less per week) earning money in US dollars and gaining work experience in their area of interest.
NB: CPT permission is granted through the institution’s International Students Office or equivalent upon approval of the student’s designated school official (DSO).
Lists of United States Visa Sponsorship Opportunities 2024
In your quest to get a company that is willing to sponsor your work visa in the United States, it is paramount to know the type of firms whose primary aim and objective align with expertise. Because this will aid in your smooth navigation of job search in the United States thereby increasing your chances of securing your dream job while building a fulfilling career.
- Tech Companies: Amazon, Google, Apple, Deloitte, IBTCI United States, Meta, IBM, Accenture, Capgemini, Intel, Cognizant, Infosys, Microsoft, Cisco, Tech Mahindra
- Financial Institutions: Citi Bank and Bank of America also offer US Visa Sponsorship.
- Health Care: Laboratories, Research institutions, and pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Novartis offer US Visa Sponsorship to Nurses, Pharmacist, and Medical Practitioners
- Engineering: Aeronautic companies like Boeing, Automobile companies like Tesla, General Electric (GE), Lockheed Martin, and other Energy companies offer US Visa Sponsorship to skilled engineers who are certified in their field of practice
NB: One can also get a US Visa Sponsorship through Exchange Programmes. The likes of P-Yes and STS Foundation specializes in sponsoring high school student study in the United States while peering them with an American Family
Expected Questions in US Visa Interviews
- Personal Information
- What is your name?
- What do you do for a living? First state what you do for a living (Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer.)
- What is your marital status and number of children you have if any?
- Purpose of travel
- What is your purpose for traveling to the United States? this is another question that you answer basically to solely declare your reason for visit to the United States.
- Have you ever visited the United States?
- It is very paramount to answer honestly. Tell about the reasons you have visited the US before, i.e. tourism, training, medical reasons, etc. Even if you have stayed beyond your visa validity, been deported or detained during your previous stay in the US, you must tell.
- Do you have any family members or relatives staying in the United States?
- If any, the details of such person(s) must be provided
- Where do you intend to stay in the United States?
- You will have to show your hotel booking details to the interviewer and provide valid reasons why you have chosen a hotel. Alternatively, if you have chosen to stay with a relative or family member, the address of such must be provided.
- Your financial statement and sponsorship details will also be asked of you.
Summary
These and many other questions are what you are expected to answer. Your verbal presentation is key to getting your visa approved; your composure when responding to these questions matters a lot. Be honest, calm, confident, factual, concise and show appreciation after answering these questions.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Other Than Company Sponsored Visas, Is There Any United State Employer That Can Sponsor My H-1B Visa?
Easy Step to get a US employer to sponsor you for H-1B Visa
- First Step: Head to your search engine and google “H1B Employer Data Hub” click on the page link
- The Second Step is to find “H1b Employer Datahub” by scrolling down.
- Third Step: Choose the Fiscal Year from Last Year.
- Fourth Step: To view a list of all the employers who sponsor H1B visas, select the “Employer (Petitioner) Name” on the drop-down option. These are employers who have previously sponsored H1B Visas before and are presumably more likely to do it again.
- Final Step: Contact the ones that their working condition aligns and best suit your expertise.
How much does it cost for a company to sponsor my United States of America Visa
The financial implication and total cost for sponsoring a US Visa varies over a wide range based on factors which include the type of work Visa applied for.
However, for conglomerate of company the total cost of sponsoring H-1B Legal and Government Fees for Employers ranges from about $4,535 to $17,885 for initial petition and $7,165 to $33,365 for initial and extension. This includes the Application Fee, H-B1 Registration Fee, Asylum Fee, Attorney Fees, Attorney Fees if there is a request for evidence, Scholarship and Training Fee, Anti-Fraud Fee, Premium Processing (optional but generally necessary) and 50/50” Fee (for employers with workforce over 50% H-1B/L-1) on initial petition.