> I work for a FAANG in London and we have cross geo teams in US (California mainly, some in WA). Anyone interested in relocating to the US teams needs to work for at least a year in the UK office before they are eligible to move to US on L1B if engineer or L1A if management role.
Is there selection in your case? Do you need to be some level of indispensable for your team, or have a very good track record already to be considered? Or is it something more relaxed where you get to move if you're considered good and hard-working?
> More often than not chances of moving to US after working at a FAANG in Europe should be possible unless your company doesn't support relocations; it's better to be upfront in the interviewing stage if you want to do that.
I am guessing that there is a tactical way to do that without telling them that I just want the job for the relocation opportunities?
Because working at a FAANG would be great for me, I'm interested in the job, but I also really care about the relocation. Not sure how to say this.
- how soon did you get into the US during your journey? Was it a couple years in Europe, then immediately L1, then waiting 8 years for a green card? More like starting a job and moving 5 years later?
- do you expect the situation to change in the next couple years? the new election, current criticism of the H1B, apparently overdue reform of immigration due to border issues (?); I read that the Trump admin changed the H1B rules which made them closer to a lottery, maybe the process could change again?
- does Canadian _residency_ give you better chances of US job visas/residency? Do you need citizenship? I would be okay with staying a few years there if I find good jobs (or remote US jobs!)
- why is it harder to get a green card from the technical L1? how much harder? that's probably what I would be going for, unless I can find a job that includes both
- assuming that I manage to get respected in a field, but maybe not world-class researcher, does this help? in making companies more willing to sponsor me maybe? (I can probably co-publish more and get references if that's all it takes)
Also would like to know how I should present this to the local company. Can I tell them "I want to work for you but I'm aiming to get US residency", and ask them if they would commit to that? Or do I need to work for a year or two and _then_ ask for it?
> Your limited experience - internship as work history - will already allude to the fact that you don't have interview experience.
Sorry if my OP wasn't clear, I'm in a real, permanent job. I meant that I was selected for that through my internship performance, the interview itself was very light. I guess your point still stands though.
> Just go for the job you want. Don't burn other companies and waste their time to exercise your experience.
I really should have mentioned that I’m not American, I just want to work there in the future.
Point taken about selection though! I’m thinking I could network with academics while working on implementing papers, etc.
Do you think the selection situation is different for foreigners? Do you know if the same is true about European schools? The 3-year average for PhDs in Europe really looks more attractive to me.
Also would really appreciate if you could tell me more about how these programs select people who aren’t 4.0 students from a top school with famous recommendations. Is practice important, should you know a lot about current SOtA, do you need to show math proficiency?
That would be nice. But I’m not from a great school and don’t have a lot of published research (co-authored a few papers where I wasn’t the main contributor). I thought maybe that would be a better choice in a few years with a better CV.
I do have an MS in DS/ML, but thanks for the advice.
Now, if I were to look for ML engineering positions after that hiatus, would that change the answer? I already have some experience in that.
(I should have been clearer that I’m not expecting a research scientist job right away, I’d like to upskill and then take a job I’m qualified for, and try the PhD route later.)