What Should You Know About Employer Sponsorship for a Visa?

Thinking about applying for a job abroad? Or maybe you want to study abroad to earn a visa post graduation. Before you start packing your bags, consider everything you need to know about employee sponsorship and earning a work visa — an often daunting topic that we break down with the help of two experts.?

By Helen Harris

Several years ago, I tried desperately to land a job in London. I submitted application after application hoping someone would want to sponsor me. But then I realized that in most instances, I would have to already have a visa to get a job abroad. I thought, “Isn’t that a catch 22? How is that possible?”?

Well, it’s not.?

“It’s de facto impossible,” said Ed Han , technology talent recruiter and job seeker ally, as he so bluntly informed me that most employers don’t willy-nilly hand out sponsorships.?

What Is Sponsorship for Employment??

As an immigrant, in order to have access to all the basic services in a country (such as social services and healthcare), you will need to be sponsored by an employer. And this employer must be a legal business entity in the country you want to reside in.??

If a business chooses to employ you, it is guaranteeing that you will fill a certain, specific role and that the company will sponsor your visa.??

While countries vary on specifications when applying for a visa, Kristen Fife , Seattle area senior technical recruiter, adds to this, stating that most countries have an age cap of 40 and health regulations.?

“While it 100% depends on the country, it’s generally hard to get a work visa after age 40,” said Fife. “Also, in most countries, you have to have a clean bill of health before they'll even consider your application.”?

The Facts About Employee Sponsorship

In fact, according to JD Supra , in the U.S. alone, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) caps the number of H-1B work visas given every year at 65,000 for those with a bachelor’s degree, and an additional 20,000 are given to those with at least a masters from a U.S.institution.?

“In any developed nation, a person can't simply hop on a plane, arrive and just start working in a profession — because there is a need to obtain the legal right to work,” said Han. “And that's one of the biggest challenges; most forms of work authorizations for those who need to obtain that first are going to be tied to employer sponsorship. And employer sponsorship can be an extremely expensive and multiyear process depending on how one goes about it.”

Fife added to Han’s point, stating that not every employer can or does sponsor visas, as the process can cost up to $10,000 per person.

“Regardless of where in the world you go, if you legally want to work in a country, you have to be authorized to work there — whether that's dual citizenship or whether you can get an employment visa,” said Fife. “Also, it’s important to understand that visas are specifically awarded to those who can fill roles in which there are already not enough domestic workers.”?

How To Get a Work Visa While Outside the U.S.: The L1-Visa and H1-B Visa

For those looking to get a sponsorship for employment in the US, Fife explains two ways to go about it: Working for a multinational company and obtaining an L1-visa and entering (and winning) the H1-B visa lottery.?

“You start by working for a multinational company that has offices in the United States,” said Fife. “And generally, you can work for that company for a year in whatever country you live in and then talk to them about getting a visa to move to one of their U.S. subsidiaries.”

If this is approved, you will get what is called an L-1 work visa — and it’s basically an intercompany transfer.??

“Multinational employers often do this because they want to benefit from a large, installed base of highly educated, highly accomplished talent,” said Han. “Seeking sponsorship for employment comes with a much lower barrier to entry, as it’s basically the employer saying, ‘Hey, we think this person is so qualified and so important to our operations that we want them to move into this country.’”?

If you don’t work for a multinational company and want to immigrate to the US, you may also consider applying for the H1-B Visa lottery. The H1-B visa, as described by NNU Immigration , is a temporary non-immigrant worker visa that makes it possible for U.S. businesses and organizations to employ graduate level and foreign nationals who practice specialty occupations such as medicine, engineering and technology.

Fife explains that the H1-B visa requires an employer to either submit an actual initial application, transfer an existing visa or to employ someone that has won the lottery outside the U.S.

“If a person wins the H1-B visa lottery, that means that the employer doesn't have to file an application and they don’t have to pay for sponsorship,” said Fife. “They already have the H1-B visa but still need to have an employer — because an H1-B visa is sponsored and held by the employer.”?

So, what are your chances of being selected for an H1-B visa after all??

For the 2019-20 season, NNU Immigration reported that applicants had a 32% chance of being selected in the H1-B visa lottery. However, to boost your chances of being selected, you can take steps to make sure you have completed all the necessary steps on your application, such as the following:?

Send the application after the opening date for applications — not any earlier.?

Pay the right fee along with your application.?

Ensure that you meet the requirements of having a specialty occupation and/or required degree to do the job you are applying for.?

Make sure the job you are seeking accepts H1-B visas.?

Make sure to apply for each job offer you have with different employers.??

Make sure to only send one application for each position/employer. If multiple petitions are submitted for one employer or position, they will be rejected.?

If either of these processes don’t seem like the right route for you, there is still another option — which may be particularly appealing if you are of the science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) mindset.?

How To Get a Work Visa While in the US: Graduate from a Master’s Program, Get an OPT?

“Coming to the United States, quite honestly, the easiest way is to get your master’s or Ph.D.,” said Fife. “From there, you can get your optional practical training (OPT), which is a visa that is for students after they finish their master’s or graduate degrees.”

Han added that this route to a work visa sponsorship in the U.S. is straightforward, as a student just needs to complete their undergraduate studies in their home country and then enroll in a master’s program at any accredited university in the U.S.

“Additionally, if you pursue a STEM discipline, the OPT auto renews for an additional two years,” said Han. “I recommend that if anyone is going to get the biggest bang for their buck that they pursue a two-year master’s program in the U.S. and follow a STEM discipline so they get three years of work authorization in the U.S. as part of the sponsorship.”

?Fife also stresses that while you can file for an H1-B with your OPT, there is a limited number of H1-Bs each year and not every applicant is approved. Generally, there are about two to three times more applicants than there are work visas awarded.?

While there are a handful of ways to go about getting a work visa sponsorship depending on your career field, interests and stage of life, both Han and Fife stress the importance of always seeking the knowledge of an immigration attorney and consulting the USCIS website .??

“The single biggest thing for anyone immigrating to a country — especially in the U.S. — is when you're looking for information, talk to an employment and immigration attorney,” said Fife. “Do not rely on your friends or things you find on the internet.”

Top Takeaways?

What Should You Know About Employer Sponsorship for a Visa?

• Sponsorship for employment is when a legal company in another country sponsors your visa and is guaranteeing you will fill a certain, specific role at that workplace.?
• If you are trying to immigrate to the U.S., you can try to get an L1-visa (i.e., a transfer within a multinational company) or submit an application for an H1-B visa in the yearly lottery.?
• One of the simplest ways to obtain a work visa in the U.S. is to study, and graduate, from a STEM-based master’s program and then get an OPT visa (this will get you three years in the U.S.).?
• Above all, always seek the expert opinion of an employment and immigration attorney, and consult the USCIS website.