European breaking into USA IB strategy post
I'm an Economics major in a Spanish University, and my goal is to break in the IB/Finance Industry in the USA. I will be finishing my degree at University of California as an abroad exchange program student, and after a lot of research and getting answers i've seen the devastating reality of how hard it is to work in America if you don't have the right visa, so i will lay down what i think could work for me, and i would like to get the maximum feedback because a lot of people are in my position too and there aren't any discussions about this really.
I will attend to UC (which can give me a nicer CV?), and then i plan to finish the degree (basically comeback to receive the diploma here in Spain) because i won't probably get any internship offer in USA whatsoever bc of my visa status and so on. Then i plan to get an internship in IB in Spain (Madrid probably). I will try to get the offer from a firm that is operating at USA (they are a BB or EB probably). If not possible then, get National boutique or bank internship (such as a Spanish EB or Sanander/BBVA) and try to network into a European firm (Located in the European Union basically, let it be Spain or another country) and try to work my way up to get visa-sponsored to work in the USA offices of that firm.
Questions:
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Does attending UC really make an impact to being recruited?
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Is this path realistic? I will have 2 internships under my belt when recruiting for graduate internship
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Do people manage to get transfered to USA or it's even harder than what i think?
If someone can offer any other different POV, alternative or any insight is really appreciated, as there are a lot of us Spaniards Monkeys that want to work in the US Finance and don't know how to make it feasible.
Will you be on the J visa or F visa when you go to the US school? The J visa has no easy path to residency, F1, in theory, has. And from what I have seen most exchange programs are on J, which would not allow any type of work activities. J visa beneficiaries can be paid, if the right program/sponsor was selected. Universities normally don't pay you though.
I think a good school will help you generally, but you wouldn't have a work visa for the US either way. You would need to graduate in the US (exchange programs typically won't allow this) in order to get cpt/opt/H1b/gc. The entire process will take 7-11 years, approximately.
Yes, it is easier to get a transfer visa from a corporation which has offices in your home country and the US. But even those visa are facing significantly more scrutiny from USCIS these days because the have been abused by some offshore IT companies.
I attended one of the schools in the UC network; while it was a good brand to have on my resume, it was not a "surefire way" of getting into finance, it was a struggle purely from a geographical point alone. Took about 15K in airfare for interviews and assessment centers alone.
The majority of permanent/residency visa in the US are given through family based pathways (family members, spouses, ..).
Going the employment based route is possible, but very difficult.
If you truly want to live and work in the US, focus on this goal early on and make sure all options are discussed in detail.
https://www.aila.org/ is a good source for immigration attorneys.
I will indeed attend with a J-1 visa, did you have a path or experience similar to mine? I would like to think that attendint that UC university will have a positive impact on my recruiting that will help me on the long journey of getting to work at USA Finance Industry. Do you have any answers or suggestions to the roadmap?
The J1 visa won't allow you to stay in the US, you have to leave. Read up on it on the USCIS website (which, I am sure, you have already done anyway).
These exchange programs won't allow you to graduate in the US normally, you'd have to go back to your home country. This, as a result, won't allow you to get cpt or opt (only on F1).
This is a crucial element of working/living in the US. Think about it this way, if there was a cheap and easy way for EU students to get into the US without the tuition price tag - wouldn't everyone do it?
You have to pay to play.
I paid 250K in tuition to play in the US. And it was just that - play. Ended up in a job in Europe which my peers got without paying a cent in tuition.
If you want to live and work in the US:
F1, cpt, opt, h1b, then gc
F1, then marriage (AOS)
F1, then gc through employer (unlikely) or self sponsorship/NIW (hard, but doable if you are published/PhD/..)
EU job, then L
EU job, then E (if your nationality matches the nationality of the company you can use E2 as staff)
Investment through E1/E2 NON IMMIGRANT
Investment EB gc (high investment/residency/immigrant)
(Express Entry to Canada, then citizenship there, and you'd qualify for the TN visa (again, more scrutiny now but at least a legal path)
If you are Australian or can get Australian citizenship, you'd qualify for the E3 visa to the US)
(.. there many other routes as well, this is not en exhaustive list)
From experience the easiest course of action is applying to the LATAM desk. I have seen a multitude of people for Spain pursue this path to obtain a working visa. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to break into any other team given your situation unless you have a direct connection or dual citizenship.
This is a good path if you have a F1 visa and are allowed to work in the US but need sponsorship, or if you are lateraling from Spain. But OP is not graduating from a US school and has to go straight to H1B. With a <20% chance, no one is going to bother trying those odds for a new grad, even on a more niche desk like Latam. OP needs to start their career in Europe
I also study in a target Spanish Uni. Think about a move to the US later if thats what you want. Focus on London IB!
Why London IB though? If the compensation is pretty similar to the Madrid one (while London is far more expensive), and the ultimate goal is to work in the US. So wouldn't the route IB Spain ---> IB in USA be more reasonable? I'm genuinely asking because i don't know if London IB is really worth it.
Because London -> NY is easier than anything else.
Another path could be doing a 3-year degree in the US followed by 2 years of work experience. If you do that, you may fit the LPR category (Lawful Permanent Resident - 5 years) and be able to apply for citizenship by naturalization. It's the most desperate move because (i) huge costs; (ii) starting from 0 (your European degree won't matter); (iii) opportunity cost; and (iv) starting way older your career.
But I'm not an expert so I don't know the nuts and bolts of how LPR works. If you're not interested in LPR, then see mech60's comment.
Also, there are similar threads about people asking how to move to the US with plenty of good answers. Use the search bar.
Yeah i searched but got few results of what I was looking at. If i was to do that, i would probably do a Master there then (I won't go that route though so hypotethically), but yeah it's a possibility. The thing is that for it to be worth it, it has to give me enough confidence and security that i will be able to work there and have no visa complications whatsoever, and also for it to be in a target-enough school so i can land good offers. All of this is asking too much to what the future outcome of that path could be, and also it has to be that way or then it would have been overly expensive and not worth it (keep in mind tuition is about 60-70k, let alone costs of living).
But yeah that's a possibility to consider, thanks for answering and also the insight on the LFR system!
F1 visa are non-immigrant and require the beneficiary to leave the country. While they can be adjusted to dual-intent, this is also where my own knowledge ends and OP would have to speak to an immigration attorney.
also, in order to stay under a legal status at the end of the studies, there would need to be a visa or other provision. Most UG degrees are only four years. CPT/OPT are still under F1.
The LPR (green card) chances are under 0.5% per year for Spain... not a realistic path and certainly not worth throwing in 3 more years of school
Do some research on banks that advise European-based companies. You should target these banks. Several banks in the USA provide buy-side advisory services to these companies as Europe wants as much exposure to North America as possible.
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