Intl Student Going to a Canadian University: Will American Firms Hire Me
Just like the title says, I am an international student and go to a Canadian university (UWaterloo).
We have 5 mandatory co-op terms. Getting a job in the US after grad is my plan so doing a co-op in the states would be great.
However, I know that getting sponsored as an international student is hard even for someone going to college in the US, and everyone I know at my uni who got US jobs are Canadian so they had the TN visa.
Do firms even sponsor applicants like me, who are international, doesn't go to an American college but a Canadian one?
I would also appreciate any tips on what other paths I could take to end up in the US, even if it means I have to stay in Canada for a bit.
Thanks
Also, the site keeps moving my post to the business school/gmat forum so sorry if my post seems irrelevant to the forum.
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I know an international guy who cleared all interviews for a visa-friendly EB with a fucking executive referral and still didn't get sponsored because of no TN. And dude's a beast.
No bank is going to sponsor your H1B without any experience. Doesn't matter how good you are. You want to work in the US, you gotta go to school in the US, or at the very least, have TN.
Teller in Non profit, where are you?
Here I am bro. Just painful memories, haha.
Enjoy BMO dawg lmao
Its very tough. GS might be the only one that is happy to sponsor regardless of the circumstances. EVR/MOE/PJT all sponsor Canadian citizens as they can use TN as a back up.
No, GS doesn't (edit: at least for IB), unless you have TN or equivalent. Had a convo with a global head of a coverage group who said you can just get the exact same profile who doesn't require sponsorship, so we just hire that.
Damn tuff
Thats not true. A west coast Canadian school sent a non Canadian candidate to GS S&T in NYC this year. He was sponsored on H1B. GS will sponsor, but frankly you have to be a highly exceptional candidate.
Bro, American firms will hire you - just not in the US.
No firm will apply for your H1B without any prior experience. Unless you are from another country with a specialized visa (like TN) or your uncle is the CEO willing to directly file, it's not possible.
I say this as someone who interviewed for visa-friendly EBs with CEO/President level referrals for HR to ultimately not sponsor the visa. BBs, with global head referrals, cut me out before entering into the process.
I have seen someone get hired at an HF middle office role directly from Canada but she had 3 years prior experience in that exact role before her masters.
Other than that it is all Can/Aus/countries with specialized visa categories. I've spent over a year of my time focusing in the US, and cleared interviews. So don't build up false hope.
Path to the US:
1. work in Canada, get PR and citizenship, get hired on TN (will take a 5-6 years though, unless you marry someone and get PR right away).
2. Work for a few years, try to lateral on H1B (like the HF one, not every firm will be open)
3. More sure way is to do a US masters / MBA, that way you qualify for OPT, as long as you can network and interview, you'll be sponsored by the visa friendly banks.
4. Most certain way is to marry an American. Nothing beats that.
Edit:
Of course, if you're a mad math genius, HFs might be a lot more willing to take a chance.
Thanks for the comment - realized I should not hope to get in to the US right after grad.
I am definitely planning on doing a masters in the states, either in STEM or law. However, my concern is that masters are only two years which means less time to network/search for jobs. How does the master/mba route usually pan out for people?
I interviewed in the US from a Canadian masters. So if you’re doing a US one, it’s already a lot more advantageous especially with the initial work permit.
You can network the moment you step in school or even earlier.
Most important thing is you gotta go to a good school with OCR. That way firms recruit on campus and have defined pipeline, so you can get in easier as long as you are prepped and can interview.
Law school is 3 years I think, but Idk how law recruiting works (except that shown in Suits).
MBA requires you to have 2-5 years of work ex before applying, and again as long as you go to a feeder school, networking once in school is more than enough due to OCR pipelines for summer associate roles.
Edit: And to add, make sure if you’re doing an MBA, it is from a top school - preferably M7 or at least top 10-15. Anything below and you’re at a disadvantage. A JPM MD even said make sure you don’t go to UT or something (and it’s like top 16/17 MBA in the US I think).
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