As an IT specialist, move to the US: a comparison of work visas, useful services and links to help

According to a recent Gallup study, over the past 11 years, the number of Russians wishing to move to another country has tripled. Most of these people (44%) are in the age group up to 29 years. Also, according to statistics, among the most desirable countries for immigration among Russians, the US is confidently holding on.

Therefore, I decided to collect in one material data on the types of visas that would suit IT specialists (designers, marketers, etc.) and entrepreneurs, and also supplement them with links to useful services for collecting information and real cases of compatriots who have already managed to pass this way.
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Choosing the type of visa

Three types of visas that qualify for employment are best suited for IT professionals and entrepreneurs:

• H1B is a standard work visa, which is received by employees who have received an offer from an American company.
• L1 - visa for internal corporate transfers of employees of international companies. So in the US, an employee moves from the offices of an American company in other countries.
• O1 - a visa for outstanding specialists in their field.

Each of these options has its pluses and minuses.

H1B: employer assistance and quotas

People who do not have citizenship or a residence permit in the United States must receive a special visa - H1B - to work in this country. Her receipt is sponsored by the employer - he needs to prepare a package of documents and pay various fees.

For an employee, everything is fine here - the company pays for everything, it is very convenient. There are even specialized websites, such as MyVisaJobs , with which you can find companies that most actively invite employees on an H1B visa.



Top 20 visa sponsors according to 2019

But there is one drawback - not everyone who got an offer from an American company will be able to immediately come to work.

H1B visas are subject to quotas that change annually. For example, the quota for the current 2019 fiscal year is only 65 thousand visas. At the same time last year, 199 thousand applications were submitted for its receipt. There are much more applicants than visas issued, therefore a lottery is held among applicants. It turns out that in recent years the chance to win it is 1 out of three.

In addition, a visa and payment of all duties costs the employer at least $ 10,000, this is in addition to paying salaries. So you have to be very valuable personnel, so that the company is so tense and still risked not seeing the employee in the country because of the loss in the H1B lottery.

Visa L1

Some large US companies with offices in other countries bypass the restrictions on H1B type visas using type L. visas. There are different subtypes of such a visa — one for top managers and the other for transporting talented people in the US

Usually, in order to get an opportunity to move to the United States without any quotas or lotteries, an employee must work in a foreign office for at least a year.

According to this scheme, talented professionals are transported by companies such as Google, Facebook and Dropbox. For example, a scheme is widespread in which an employee works for some time in an office in Dublin, Ireland, and only then moves to San Francisco.

The disadvantages of this option are clear - you need to be a valuable person to interest not a simple small startup, but a company with offices in different countries. Then it will take quite a long time to work in one country, and only then move to the second (USA). For family people, this can be a challenge.

Visa O1

This type of visa is designed for people with “extraordinary abilities” in their niches. Previously, it was more used by people of creative professions and athletes, but later, IT specialists and entrepreneurs began to issue it more often.

In order to determine the degree of exclusiveness and extraordinaryness of the applicant, several points were worked out on which he needed to provide evidence. So, here's what you need to get an O1 visa:

• professional awards and prizes;
• membership in professional associations, where take extraordinary professionals (and not all in a row who can pay a membership fee);
• victories in professional contests;
• participation as a jury member in professional competitions (clear authority for evaluating the work of other professionals);
• mentions in the media (project descriptions, interviews) and own publications in specialized or scientific journals;
• a significant position in a large company;
• any additional evidence is also accepted.

It is clear that to obtain this visa you really need to be a strong specialist and meet at least several criteria from the list above. The disadvantages of a visa are the difficulty of obtaining it, the need to have an employer, on whose behalf a petition will be filed for its consideration, and the inability to then easily change jobs - you can only be employed by the company that submitted the petition to the migration service.

The main advantage is that it is given for 3 years; there are no quotas and other restrictions for its holders.

The real case of obtaining visa O1 is described on Habrahabr in this article .

Collection of information

Once you have decided on the type of visa that suits you, you need to prepare for the move. In addition to studying articles on the Internet, there are a number of services with which you can get interesting information first hand. Here are the two most frequently mentioned in public sources:

SB Relocate

Consulting service that focuses on answering questions on relocation to the United States. Everything works simply - on the site you can get access to documents checked by lawyers with step-by-step descriptions of obtaining different types of visas, or order data collection on your questions.



The user leaves a request in which he points out questions of interest (from difficulties in choosing the type of visa to employment issues, running a business and domestic difficulties, such as finding a home and buying a car). Answers can be received in the course of a video call or in text format with links to official documents, comments of relevant professionals - from visa lawyers to accountants and realtors. All such specialists are selected - the user receives the recommendations of specialists with whom the service team has already worked.

Among other things, users can order personal branding service - the project team will help to tell about professional achievements in large Russian-language and English-language media - this is useful, for example, for processing the O1 visa described above.

" It 's time to cut "

Another advisory service working on a slightly different model. This is a platform on which users can find expats from different countries and even cities and consult with them.



After selecting the desired country and method of moving (work visa, study, etc.), the system issues a list of people who moved to this place in the same way. Consultations can be paid and free - it all depends on the desires of a particular consultant. Communication takes place in the chat.

In addition to consulting services founded by Russian-speaking people, there are also useful international information resources. Here are the most useful professionals who think about moving:

Paysa

The service aggregates data on salaries in the field of technology offered by American companies. Through this site, you can find out how much programmers pay in large companies, such as Amazon, Facebook or Uber, as well as compare the salaries of engineers in different states and cities.



Also Paysa can show the most profitable skills and technology. There is an opportunity to see the average salaries of graduates from different universities - a function useful to those who are thinking about studying in the United States in order to build a career in the future.

Conclusion: 5 articles with real examples of moving specialists and entrepreneurs

In conclusion, I selected several articles for the people who actually moved to the United States to work there. These materials have answers to many questions about obtaining different types of visas, interviewing, settling in a new place, and so on:

• Personal experience: as an IT specialist, move to work in the USA, relying only on himself
• As a designer get a job in Silicon Valley. Visa O-1
• How to start a job search abroad
• Job Search in USA: Silicon Valley
• How I found a job in San Francisco

If you know any useful tools, services, articles, links to which were not included in this topic - share them in the comments, I will update the material or write a new, more
detailed. Thank you all for your attention!