H1B Visa Sponsorship Horror Story

Wanted to get on here and share a horror story that recently happened to me while recruiting as an international student on F-1 Visa

Applied, did the OA Hirevue and shortly after got the email that they wanted to move me into 1r interview, did that got moved into sueperday. Hit it off with the senior Bankers in the superday, got the call later that week. Finally, the long hours, countless rejections and self-doubt had come to an end, I had an offer! Non-Target to NYC! I started to save restauraunts in teh city I wanted to hit, binge tiktoks about best places to get drinks and live in the city, and overall did not have to stress anymore.

It was only when I accecpted my offer over email and signed the paperwork that I got called from the HR rep who previously said "the team loved you" now told me that they had to recind my offer as they were not in the business of sponsoring candidates who HAVE CPT/OPT as an option -->  (The firm pays nothing for me at the moment)

You would think that because I funnelled 320k over 4 years  into the U.S economy, my visa would be looked at more favorably right? Wrong. I had a glorified tourist visa. And just like that, I was out of a job. back to square one. That google maps list, useless. The tiktoks saved, useless. One thing I am thankful for is that I didn't post my offer on linkedin or adjust my experiences cuz thank god imagine if I did...

Moral of the story, I know I am not the only person that has had to navigate this or has had this happen to them, so if anyone reading this needs reassurance or went through something similar, my inbox is open.

22 Comments
 

HR incompetence. Happened to me before and they eventually went ahead and transferred my H1B since they really wanted me on the team. 

 

Morgan Stanley, JPM, Goldman really most of the big banks have understaffed and underpaid HR (on the recruiting side, can’t speak towards the other functions) with really high turnover rates. When I was in school, all but one of the early careers team members left in a year at one of the biggest banks. Bc they were so understaffed, a lot of the programming got scrapped during the internship I heard from students a year below me. It even took them a week to respond to senior people within the firm bc of how thinly spread they were. 

 

So not checking the ‘need sponsorship in the future box’ is a bad idea? Cause we technically dont need to if we just dont extend (through H1B) our OPT

 

Horrible idea. Your application is materially incorrect and your offer will be pulled at some point of background check/on boarding.

 

Ive heard stories where people wouldnt check the box (since literally speaking they wouldnt need sponsorship if they choose not to thru either going back/getting a masters, among others) and after they get the offer they’re upfront with HR. Doing this with companies that do sponsor but is not ‘sponsor-blind’ makes sense, no?

 

As someone that just transferred on an H1B, you need to check 'Yes' even if it's a visa transfer. For HR, it is considered sponsorship.

 

To confirm, by visa transfer, you mean that going from F-1 to OPT (which to my understanding is still on an F-1 so there is no ‘transfer’), you would still have to check the box?

 
Most Helpful

Happened to me when I was interviewing. Deloitte's IB arm reached out (even though I knew they didn't sponsor) and fast-tracked me to a superday. Ahead of the superday they made us fill out an application where I selected I needed H1B sponsorship in the future and bam! I received a rejection immediately after. Funny how that works ha.

Had a similar thing happen when I was recruiting for PE at an UMM / MF and went pretty far but then they realized I needed sponsorship which they didn't traditionally do. Fortunately, they figured out a way for me to come over eventually so it all worked out.

I would say keep your chin up and eyes and ears open. Assuming u are SA 26, there's still a year left until next summer and sporadic spots do open up as people renege / headcount needs change. Keep networking and you'll land something. 

 

Not exactly a horror story. Things are evolving rapidly with H1B and the entire immigration process.

No one don’t want to on board additional organisational risks amidst all the other uncertainties. Sorry that it happened to you.

 

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