Ask HN: How do I get a job at a SV startup as an international? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do I get a job at a SV startup as an international?

4 pointsapplepi4 comments

I am CS student approaching graduation and I would love to work in Silicon Valley and get inspired by the environment and the energy there is around. So I wanted to ask you how to best achieve this goal of mine. I will be getting my MSc in CS in Italy in April and in May I will be defending my MSc thesis in the US (kind of a double degree), so I thought I'd stay a week in San Francisco to do some interviews with startups. I know H-1B visas are only issued once every year and there's only a limited amount, so how those hiring international usually work? Also, when is the best time to apply for open positions if I will be in SF in the second week of May? Thank you in advance for any help!

There is no short-cut around getting a work visa. The company needs to spend time and money to even start the visa process and it can take months to years to get all cleared. The company also has to prove to the government they weren't able to find a US person to do the same job. That's much easier if you are some kind of expert in your field or the job description matches almost only you.

Alternatives are the yearly Greencard lottery or getting hired by a subsidiary of US company in Italy and then do an internal transfer after a year. That rules out most startups.

May I suggest moving to Berlin instead? Inside Europe you can move and work in any country.

There are alternatives like F1, J1 etc. You can get transferred with a L1 one year after moving.

It also doesn't take years to get a H1-B...

F1 is for students AFAIK,which does not apply to the OP since (s)he's graduating. Aldo J1 I think is for internships, which could be a temporary "fix", but in the long run (s)he will need an actual work visa.. I'm interested too,what's the process for a work visa, once the company decides you're a good fit?

I would suggest you to follow TechMeAbroad. They are working on a platform to connect SV companies and candidates from abroad. It's not live yet, but soon to from what I heard.

https://twitter.com/techmeabroad https://www.facebook.com/techmeabroad

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