make a page about visa stuff

[evykassirer]

anonymous question about visa stuff:

I go to university in Canada as well - did you find the visa process more difficult? When I usually apply for jobs I have to click the no box for whether I can work there and always seem to think that puts me in a disadvantage. Thank you so much!

[evykassirer]

I want to make a page about visa stuff (mostly Canada->US specific)

I'll link to https://stephenholiday.com/Unofficial-Waterloo-USA-Intern-Guide/ as a reference

And the answer to this question is that you can work there! You just need to get a visa. I'd say for these things you can always just say you can work there (even if it's sort of lying) and then early on in the interview process see if they'll sponsor a visa. This lets you talk to a real person after they've decided they think you're a good candidate, instead of filtering you out of consideration right away.

[ldct]

I can contribute to this! I'm studying in Canada but am not a Canadian permanent resident or citizen and go to the US for internships, so I've had to read primary sources (the US state department website, visa sponsor websites, the citizenship and immigration canada website) more often than most people. I feel like for immigration/work authorization/tax question more precise answers are helpful as I often found other people's "in my case, ..." answers to not apply to my case (or I couldn't determine if they did)

With respect to the work authorization questions some companies ask - I've never seen a generic question like "can you work here", but two specific types. Here are the answers I would give for someone like me (not a US permanent resident, studying in Canada):

1. "Can you obtain authorization to work in the US" - yes (under the J1 program)
2. "Will you require visa sponsorship in the future" - yes

It helps to realize that these 2 answers don't change for a non-US-permanent-resident studying in the US, so it is not a "disadvantage" to study in Canada instead of the US in this sense.

It also helps to realize that (in my experience) few companies, at least in tech hubs like SF, NYC and Seattle, explicitly let a "yes" answer to question (2) affect the interview process. The two companies I've seen that are exceptions are Dropbox and Facebook.

I have also never seen the question, "Do you currently have authorization to work in the US", asked by a company before the first day of the job

[evykassirer]

awesome! that's great advice

Would you be interested in writing the first draft of the page and making a PR? Or just adding to a list of stuff that'll go on there whenever I get not-lazy about it ^_^

[rogermoffatt]

I'd mention here that the minute after you publish the first page on this topic, it will be out of date. One of the reasons that it's so hard to find accurate advice without speaking to an immigration attorney is that there is a lot of regulation in this area and this is what makes giving standardized advice almost impossible.