How do you H-1B visa holders grapple with the stress of working at an MM?
- what happens if you get fired? do you typically know ahead of time and you start interviewing early? (given others are getting fired in other seats)
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Ah, the life of an H-1B visa holder in an MM, it's like swinging from vine to vine in the jungle, you've got to keep a firm grip or you might just fall!
If you get fired, it's a bit like falling off a tree. You're not out of the game, but you've got to scramble. You typically have a 60-day grace period to find another job or change your visa status. But remember, every situation is unique, so it's always best to consult with an immigration attorney.
As for knowing ahead of time, it's a bit like trying to predict the weather in the jungle. Sometimes there are signs, like if others in similar positions are being let go, but it's not always clear. It's always a good idea to keep your eyes open and your resume updated, just in case.
Remember, the jungle is full of surprises, but with the right preparation and a bit of luck, you can navigate it successfully!
Sources: Is my American Dream Over?, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/new-h1-b-visa-restrictions?customgpt=1, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/job-search/how-screwed-are-international-students-now?customgpt=1, Q&A: I Work at Strategy&. Consulting
funny that the bot explained it quite well
Getting the H1B from an MM... that's brave.
I've seen this happen for someone who applies for a greencard from a MMHF. It honestly sort of sucks. You tend to get canned a lot, so every time it happens, you should hope that you relocate teams internally. Sometimes if the new internal opportunity is sufficiently different in responsibility from the previous one, the company's legal dept needs to file some kind of justification to the labor dept. The PM is going to underpay you because he knows you're stuck there until the greencard process finishes (likely several years at least for most immigrants). But unlike a normal big finance company, there's no structure on the bonuses. He can pay you anywhere from 0 to 100% of the total book revenue, and you have zero recourse if he pays 0%.
Get H1B elsewhere, once you obtain the green card, then you can transit to MM.
Why tf would you add volatility into your life when a MM seat is already super volatile?
I have an H1B through my banking stint... having it doesn't mean I can't get fired and lose my job and have 2 months to find something new.
Wow. I respect the bravery and grind of anyone in an MM with a H1B. That sort of -ve covariance of payoff with the SDF in life - nope for me
Folks a bit dramatic on here, I have known a couple people who went through it. First, remember that MMs do not get a massive visa allocation (this is not like hiring tech grads). So if they do it, they really want the candidate and to help them push to a greencard rather fast. No MM PM is going out of their way to hire someone for cheaper based on legalty that is not the culture, MMs spend a lot on talent and tools cause of the way fees to investors work.
Consider a MM used a visa on a new grad analyst to get “cheap labour” and then cannot later hire a rockstar PM for a new strategy who is based in Asia today and wants to move to Miami. That is the sorts of decisions longterm the firms have to weigh.
Now, stability which is where most folks on here are right yes stability is hard for anyone in a MM and if you get let go the major issue is you have to restart the whole green card process with a new sponsored firm. So most people really do not buy assets, and somewhat look around in the industry annually to be like “where could I go if need be” again this is not way different from anyone in MM just even more so.
So really depends what your options are as a whole and where in the process you are, if with a very stable firm near green card process ending better to hold out, if starting new possibly minimal difference etc…
I honestly don’t understand why anyone would want to be a visa holder working in the US at a HF. Why not just find a job in Singapore or Hong Kong? You can make just as much in compensation, pay less in taxes, and have more career stability which should give you more peace of mind which should result in better performance.
Besides, the overwhelming number of visa holders are from Asia so this likely puts you closer to family.
It seems like you haven’t put enough thoughts behind this. Besides the obvious reasons why people want to go/stay in the West - family, friends, personal preference etc, not all regional offices are the same. If you want to join the top performing team (I’m talking about the cream of the crop here, i.e. the most profitable pod in Citadel/Millennium), good luck trying to find them in Asia.
Quite sick of seeing simplistic argument “why doesn’t everyone move to xxx the tax is only yyy”. If so many people are not doing something that looks so obvious to you, maybe you’re the one who’s missing something.
Source: I worked/work there.
But if you never lived in the US then you won't have family/friends/personal preferences to live in the US. If you truly are good enough to join the top performing teams then you really wouldn't be in this situation in the first place where you're worried about getting laid off. Realistically you're talking about a small percentage of the overall talent pool. For the overwhelming majority, they won' have this level of job security, and the fears of losing a job is real, which is precisely why it makes sense to work in a region where you can secure a visa that is not tied to your employer and is good for multiple years.
Taxes do matter, that's why a lot of hedge funds and family offices are opening up in tax havens/lower tax jurisdictions. If COVID has taught us anything it's that our geographic location isn't important, you don't need to be in NYC to compete. Besides, what mid-20 year old would prefer to spend their weekends during winters in a Canada goose jacket in shit weather when they could be on a yacht with a bunch of beautiful women in some tropical tax haven? Realistically most investment professionals do not think they are getting a fair share of societal/government benefits in exchange for paying 50% of their income in taxes, and that's what has driven the exodus of people out of the tri-state area, and even california, to lower tax areas for several decades now. Many wealthy people are even renouncing their US citizenship to save on future taxes because they realize the trade off between taxes paid and government services received are just a poor deal.
What are the best performing pods at Citadel, Millennium,etc?
Curious to hear of any stories. I was in a position to join an MM and declined as would have to restart GC process. Stuck on the sell-side much longer than would've liked, but in hindsight I still think right decision. Better to move with GC in hand, can't imagine having your ability to remain in country tied to job.
Why can't you ask the MM to start the GC process as soon as you join?
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