Visa sponsorship in BigLaw Forum

[facetumore]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

[Mullens]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

So biglaw firms currently sponsor visas, but the visa situation might be very different six years from now given the current political climate. It's impossible to know what's gonna happen to H1-Bs by then.

From what I've seen about losing the lottery now is that firms decide on a case by case basis whether to fire you or stash you overseas.

[facetumore]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

So biglaw firms currently sponsor visas, but the visa situation might be very different six years from now given the current political climate. It's impossible to know what's gonna happen to H1-Bs by then.

Sts
From what I've seen about losing the lottery now is that firms decide on a case by case basis whether to fire you or stash you overseas.

Thank you very much for your reply. I don't think a merit based system would hurt me. By the way, I have 11 more shots on the diversity visa lottery if everything goes bad I hope that turns out good

[takeseven]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

H1-B sponsorship is generally not a problem for top firms (probably anything V100). However with the lottery chances being so low in recent years, you have to be strategic about picking firms that have the ability to send you to an overseas office since there's a decent chance that you'll miss out in the lottery. Also some firms are willing to apply for H1-B for you on the basis of your undergrad degree while you are still a 3L, so that you get an extra shot at the lottery. Some firms will not and you'll have to be on OPT when you first start working until the following April when they apply. If you are thinking about staying in the US long-term, you should do diligence on which firms sponsor green cards and which don't. I won't give specific advice since you are still several years away from OCI, but generally being foreign is not a big deal but some firms are more foreigner-friendly than others so do your research when the time comes.

[Anonymous User]

Guy at my firm lost the lotto for second year after working his first year. He's being let go, with an open offer to return if he gets picked next year or otherwise fixes his visa problem.

[Anonymous User]

Someone at my firm lost lottery twice in a row as well. First time they sent her to London, after the second time they found a way to bring her back to NYC on an intercompany transfer visa.

[facetumore]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

H1-B sponsorship is generally not a problem for top firms (probably anything V100). However with the lottery chances being so low in recent years, you have to be strategic about picking firms that have the ability to send you to an overseas office since there's a decent chance that you'll miss out in the lottery. Also some firms are willing to apply for H1-B for you on the basis of your undergrad degree while you are still a 3L, so that you get an extra shot at the lottery. Some firms will not and you'll have to be on OPT when you first start working until the following April when they apply. If you are thinking about staying in the US long-term, you should do diligence on which firms sponsor green cards and which don't. I won't give specific advice since you are still several years away from OCI, but generally being foreign is not a big deal but some firms are more foreigner-friendly than others so do your research when the time comes.

Thank you very much for your reply I will look into that if I still dont have my GC until then.

Someone at my firm lost lottery twice in a row as well. First time they sent her to London, after the second time they found a way to bring her back to NYC on an intercompany transfer visa.

I'm happy for him. I hope it turns out well for me too.

[Anonymous User]

A guy at my firm (V10) lost the lottery, so they sent him to an Asian office. They let him apply a second time, but he lost again. Now the office he's at is busy and they can't lose him, so they've made it clear they're not going to let him apply again.

[Anonymous User]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

H1-B sponsorship is generally not a problem for top firms (probably anything V100). However with the lottery chances being so low in recent years, you have to be strategic about picking firms that have the ability to send you to an overseas office since there's a decent chance that you'll miss out in the lottery. Also some firms are willing to apply for H1-B for you on the basis of your undergrad degree while you are still a 3L, so that you get an extra shot at the lottery. Some firms will not and you'll have to be on OPT when you first start working until the following April when they apply. If you are thinking about staying in the US long-term, you should do diligence on which firms sponsor green cards and which don't. I won't give specific advice since you are still several years away from OCI, but generally being foreign is not a big deal but some firms are more foreigner-friendly than others so do your research when the time comes.

This is actually incorrect. No big law would voluntarily choose to have a first year work on opt and do the lottery. If that lottery fails and it makes no economic sense for the firm to send that person to an overseas office, if there is one, then all the time and money the firm spent on the person in the previous months and during summer SA will be wasted. The reality is, with the high randomness of the lottery in mind, most big laws are even reluctant in hiring foreign nationals as SA, and some firms have cut people lose when they lose the lottery on the first try, i.e. in 3L spring.

[Anonymous User]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

H1-B sponsorship is generally not a problem for top firms (probably anything V100). However with the lottery chances being so low in recent years, you have to be strategic about picking firms that have the ability to send you to an overseas office since there's a decent chance that you'll miss out in the lottery. Also some firms are willing to apply for H1-B for you on the basis of your undergrad degree while you are still a 3L, so that you get an extra shot at the lottery. Some firms will not and you'll have to be on OPT when you first start working until the following April when they apply. If you are thinking about staying in the US long-term, you should do diligence on which firms sponsor green cards and which don't. I won't give specific advice since you are still several years away from OCI, but generally being foreign is not a big deal but some firms are more foreigner-friendly than others so do your research when the time comes.

This is actually incorrect. No big law would voluntarily choose to have a first year work on opt and do the lottery that April. If that lottery fails and it makes no economic sense for the firm to send that person to an overseas office, if there is one, then all the time and money the firm spent on the person in the previous months and during summer SA will be wasted. The reality is, with the high randomness of the lottery in mind, most big laws are even reluctant in hiring foreign nationals as SA, and some firms have cut people lose when they lose the lottery on the first try, i.e. in 3L spring.

[takeseven]

Hello, I am currently a rising sophomore and I want to get into law school after graduating. However, I will need visa sponsorship if I can't get married until then. I have seen many threads asking the same question but none of them received a real answer. It is my understanding that J.D qualifies as a H1-B Masters. So my questions are do firms sponsor visas or will it be an instant red flag? Am I dead if I loose the lottery or are overseas jobs real and is it a possibility to transfer to the US office?

H1-B sponsorship is generally not a problem for top firms (probably anything V100). However with the lottery chances being so low in recent years, you have to be strategic about picking firms that have the ability to send you to an overseas office since there's a decent chance that you'll miss out in the lottery. Also some firms are willing to apply for H1-B for you on the basis of your undergrad degree while you are still a 3L, so that you get an extra shot at the lottery. Some firms will not and you'll have to be on OPT when you first start working until the following April when they apply. If you are thinking about staying in the US long-term, you should do diligence on which firms sponsor green cards and which don't. I won't give specific advice since you are still several years away from OCI, but generally being foreign is not a big deal but some firms are more foreigner-friendly than others so do your research when the time comes.

This is actually incorrect. No big law would voluntarily choose to have a first year work on opt and do the lottery. If that lottery fails and it makes no economic sense for the firm to send that person to an overseas office, if there is one, then all the time and money the firm spent on the person in the previous months and during summer SA will be wasted. The reality is, with the high randomness of the lottery in mind, most big laws are even reluctant in hiring foreign nationals as SA, and some firms have cut people lose when they lose the lottery on the first try, i.e. in 3L spring.

I'm in-house now, but have worked at a few V50 firms. My last firm is an example of one that does not apply for H1-B during 3L spring. I understand your thinking and while it may be true at some firms that they are trying to cut their losses, the reality is that its not universally the case.