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Ask HN: Hey HN, I need your advice – 26 y/o visiting the US

7 points by beasTley0 ↗ HN
Hello HN, I am Michael, 26 y/o from Greece - a Marketing graduate from the Athens University of Economics and Business. I’ve been following HN for quite some time and I figured it would be a great place to seek advice for my current situation.

Right after graduating I had to leave Athens, where the most jobs are, and move back home (Chios, one of Aegean islands) because of family reasons. As a result, I wasn't able to turn my degree into a fulltime job. I did, however, get some relevant experience.

My first job was a content editor and social media manager for a greek poker news website for about a year. My next venture was managing a fitness equipment e-shop for about 2 years. It was a great experience for me, dabbling around in the real economy and trying to provide real value to customers and suppliers. Our cooperation went into a hiatus at the time I had to serve the greek army. After finishing my service I took up the post of a very successful Airbnb host for the summer. I was responsible for the daily management of 3 listings (check-ins, check-outs, cleaning schedule) as well as the pricing the days that were not yet booked.

I know this sounds like a boring cover letter, so I'll cut it short and explain where I stand now: I am currently a visitor in the US, living in Upstate NY. Is it viable for me to apply for a job under the H1B visa? What steps should I take? Where should I look at?

I'm a fluent English speaker and my skills include SPSS and SQL proficiency. Moreover, I am looking to learn Python and R in order to strengthen my data analytics skillset. I am mostly interested in digital marketing but I am willing to work in business analytics as well. I am also a sports fan and have a keen interest in the business side of sports, so utilising my skills (and obtaining new) in the sports industry would be great too.

I would truly appreciate your thoughts, either here or with an email at michael.lorenzos@gmail.com.

Thanks in advance!

12 comments

[ 5.0 ms ] story [ 30.9 ms ] thread
mataniko
Unfortunately it's not viable. The H1B Visa program is extremely broken. Visas are capped yearly and run out in a few days. This happens around April.

There are a bunch of other reasons, like a preference for STEM graduates, abuse of the Visa program by big companies and more. They are all equally depressing to iterate through.

The easiest path to immigrate to the US legally is to find a good job in your home country in a company that has offices in the US, work there for at least a year and ask to relocate under the L1A/B Visa.

I went through several different Visas so feel free to ask me questions.

thecupisblue
Hey, I'm wondering if you get a L1 type Visa and then while in US you get another offer from another US company, what happens?
mataniko
The L-1B Visa does not allow you to transfer to another company like a H-1B Visa, so the Visa process is the same as any other H-1B.

The L-1A Visa has a clear path for residency as a Multinational manager or executive (EB-1) while the L-1B does not.

sparkling
If you came to the US with the intention to find a job (even a H1B job!) you are currently breaking the law. I would strongly advise not to apply to any companies during your US visit.

That being said: do a lot of googling on H1B and read this thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5150810

S4M
I am an EU citizen, so I don't know much about your chances of getting an US visa, although from what I heard and from what the other commenters say, I think they are slim. However, can you try to get a job in UK? Since you are Greek, you can go there without visa and don't require any work permit - you can try other European countries as well (here in Barcelona there are jobs that don't require to speak Spanish, I suspect there are similar jobs as well in Netherlands, and maybe Germany or Belgium.
JSeymourATL
> What steps should I take? Where should I look at?

The US system is mindlessly, hopelessly complicated.

Here's a potential solution-- apply for permanent residency status (Green Card), then apply for a work permit (EAD) while your application is be processed > https://www.us-immigration.com/blog/applying-for-a-work-perm...

If you need a sponsor, go to the local Greek Orthodox Church-- ask who they might know that works in software. You will be amazed how well connected the Greek-American network is.

mataniko
This is a little misleading, you cannot apply for residency unless you're married to a USC, or an individual of extraordinary ability.

A job can apply for residency for you, but there are a specific set of requirements.

There's a lot of mis-information regarding immigration, and your best source is http://uscis.gov

http://visajourney.com is also a pretty good community.

JSeymourATL
Eligibility: Job or Employment Based - Third Preference: Skilled Workers, professionals and other qualified workers > http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-pro...
mataniko
Which requires a job offer and the employer to petition for you. The requirements are pretty steep for third preference applications too.

Even through marriage/family, the US Citizen petitions for the immigrant relative.

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beasTley0
Thank you guys, I really appreciate your input.

I didn't intend for this to be a visa discussion, I am more focused on what I should look for in my career from now on. Could you give me some pointers given the facts I stated above? Thanks again everyone!