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Comment by ih | Hacker News Reader

I just moved to the Seattle area and like it so far. It's very scenic and cool so far temperature-wise (although getting warmer over the years from what I read). I have family here, but even if I didn't, it'd be a strong candidate because of the weather (I'm ok with cloudy and cool), nature/scenery, and the tech industry. Housing is quite expensive though so raising kids may be more difficult...

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yeah I heard Seattle was the best for money in the US,

the weather is great, I like rain while working tbh

I'm pretty sure it's really hard immigrating there though from the netherlands

(correct me if I'm wrong)

For immigration to the US, I don't think an origin of the Netherlands qualifies you for an special visas, but it's also not an 'impacted' country where there are backlogs several years (decades) for immigration in some categories. If you've got a masters degree, that may help you qualify in some visa categories that might speed up processing.

If you don't have any family connections, you're likely to need an employer to sponsor you, but because you're not from China, India, Mexico, or the Philippines, the process shouldn't take forever, if you have an employer willing to go through the process.

A typical path is to work for a multinational employer somewhere you've got work authorization, with an intent to transfer to the US at some point, and then work towards a green card (permanent residency) and maybe citizenship. The US immigration process is really too slow (and random, if you're coming in through H-1B) to hire fresh grads from other countries directly into the US.

It would be hard finding someone willing to sponsor, since they can just hire a local.

Getting to a good position where you can ask to be relocated seems to be really hard too (correct me if I'm wrong).

Overall the US seems to not be a good option for me, since I completed my masters here. It might be if you study your master degree in the US, since it makes immigrating much easier.

I mean, (when they're hiring) all the big techs are hiring from wherever they can. Local is great, across the country is great, outside the country is fine too. Really big tech can do stuff like hire you, have you work near where you are or somewhere that's easy to get visas for, and sponsor you to apply for H-1B when the lottery opens every year until you win or they can apply under another category (I think there's a category for 'important overseas manager' which sometimes they'll do). Then once you're here, I think it's relatively straightforward to get on the path to a greencard, if the employee wants to sponsor that.

Getting directly hired seems hard; H-1B requires application by early April and if you win the lottery, you can't start until October. I'm not sure many employers will be willing to do that. Maybe if you can WFH in the meantime? Other work visas might not have the same application -> start times, but are still a bit of a random wait on immigration processing, which could be denied.

Getting a masters in the US is a good pathway to immigration though, yes. You can work under OPT after graduation, and you have time to mingle and maybe find a spousal sponsor ;) But it's probably too late for that.

I got in the easy way, through birth, so I don't have direct experience. But I wouldn't suggest you rule it out for sure. I think there's also a 'diversity visa' you can apply for, and they might draw your name out of a hat. I know someone who got in that way. But I know a lot of immigrants because I worked at big tech companies, and they're a magnet for immigrants.

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