How Does a Mid-Career Professional Immigrate to the US? (Short Answer: Not Easily)
This post provides an overview of the limited ways that mid-career professionals can immigrate to the United States under current law (August 2022)
This post discusses U.S. immigration law and the various (limited) ways that mid-career professionals can immigrate to the United States -
01 - Student Visas
02 - Employer Sponsorship (H-1Bs, L-1s, O-1s, Country-Specific Options)
03 - Self Sponsorship - including investors and business owners
04 - Family Sponsorship
05 - Green Card Lottery (DV Lottery) - getting lucky
I hope this overview is useful. After reading it, if you have questions, please share them in the Comments of the Post.
Or feel free to email me directly at bob@webberimmigration.com.
01 - Student Visas
A mid-career professional could seek a F-1 or J-1 visa to enter the United States for university study. This might be appealing in some ways, but it can be challenging in other ways.
Note that a student visa is explicitly a TEMPORARY visa; so a mid-career professional would need a temporary (not permanent) intent to be in the US at the time of seeking a student visa. It is possible that a person’s intent could change over time, but initially at the time of the visa application, there would need to be a TEMPORARY intent.
The appeal of a student visa is that the United States is blessed with a multitude of colleges and universities providing a wide range of types of academic programs. If you obtain admission to a university, most commonly you would be admitted an international student who needs to obtain a F-1 visa. The college/university would issue an I-20 student registration form and you would take the I-20 and seek a F-1 visa at a U.S. consulate (generally in your current country of residence). Your family can obtain F-2 dependent visas.
Entering the U.S. on a F-1 student visa will allow you to get your bearings on the United States and earn a credential that is ‘recognized’ by U.S. employers.
It is my view that international students should carefully consider their program of study. Certain programs are considered “STEM-eligible” and get you potentially 36 months of optional work authorization whereas other programs that are not STEM-eligible limit your work authorization to just 12 months. Every field of study has what is known as as CIP code. You can check the CIP code on whether it is eligible for STEM - here.
Traditionally a mid-career professional might consider a M.B.A. in the United States but a traditional M.B.A. is NOT STEM eligible, although many business schools are now offering specialized Master’s degrees that are STEM eligible. Remember, a STEM eligible degree will potentially be eligible for 3 years of work authorization which is much more attractive than 1 year (12 months).
Besides being an explicitly temporary visa, another big downside to F-1 student visas is that attending college/university in the United States can be extremely expensive and a mid-career professional often cannot afford it, especially if there is a family to support. This is probably the biggest reason a student visa is not viable for a mid-career professional.
But anyone considering opportunities in the U.S. should at least do some research on student visas. Student visas and international students in general are “big business” in the United States and the U.S. government has a lot of good resources about student visas, including the “Study in the States” website:
https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/
Sometimes scholarships are available so don’t immediately rule out studying in the United States.
An alternative to F-1 student visas are J-1 visas for study. J-1 visas are not as common as F-1 visas for university study but they are available in some circumstances. J-1 visas might allow for more work authorization options for both the principal student and his/her spouse. But one additional thing that can be problematic for J-1 students is the “two year home residence requirement.”
The best way to explore this option is to research programs online and contacting colleges and universities directly.
Cast a wide net as the options do vary greatly.
02 - Employer Sponsorship
Right now, in summer 2022, the United States has an incredible number of job openings in a wide variety of industries, including excellent opportunities at many top global companies.
Mid-career professional from around the world are often naturally attracted to these opportunities. However, as a practical matter, it can be very difficult (sometimes potentially impossible) for a U.S. employer to sponsor a mid-career professional for a work visa. This seems absurd to those not familiar with the dysfunctional U.S. immigration system, but it is true.
Here is a quick review of temporary work visas:
H-1B: This is in theory the most appropriate temporary work visa for professionals. But there is a strict limit to how many H-1B visas are available for private sector employers and as a result of the annual limit (called the H-1B cap), there is a lottery and the lottery process is frustrating and will dissuade many employers - and candidates - from participating. But colleges and universities and certain employers (like big health systems) are EXEMPT from the H-1B cap so be sure to consider H-1B cap-exempt employers who might be more willing to sponsor people directly from abroad.
L-1: This is a great option for someone who works for a subsidiary or corporate affiliate for a U.S. company outside the U.S. for at least a year (12+ months) and seeks transfer into the U.S. to work in a managerial or “specialized knowledge” role. But many companies can be ‘stingy’ about offering L-1 visas to employees who want to pursue opportunities in the US. It can be harder than it seems to get a L-1, but unlike an H-1B, for L-1 visas, there is no limit or annual cap.
O-1: This is a temporary visa available for people able to document that they are ‘outstanding’ in their field. Criteria is relatively narrow and this option is not going to be available for many people. But if you are a founder of a company or have some special credentials like patents, you might want to explore an O-1. Check out the O-1 criteria and details here.
Country-Specific Visas (E-3, TN, H-1B1): There are really nice temporary work visas available to citizens of Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and Chile. These are based on various trade agreements entered into by the US and those countries. Of course, only citizens of those countries are eligible for those visas.
The above are temporary work visas.
There is also the possibility of being sponsored by an employer directly for a green card (permanent resident status). Frankly this is what both employers and employees would prefer. But traditionally straight green card sponsorship was not done because of the relatively long wait time to get a green card. Recently though, because the labor shortage in the U.S. is so acute, more and more employers are open to it. The traditional employer-sponsored route would involve a temporary work visa first, then transition to a green card.
But again, due to the acute labor shortage and the limitations of TEMPORARY visas, some employers are now looking at direct green card sponsorship, particularly where the candidate might be able to work for an affiliate or subsidiary abroad or perhaps work-from-home.
The green card process based on employer sponsorship will generally involve PERM labor certification and unfortunately just PERM (stage 1 of 3) can often take a year or more to complete.
Overall it could easy take 18 months or more for a mid-career professional immigrate based on green card sponsorship, and the process is much, much worse for people born in India or China due to “per country” limits.
03 - Self Sponsorship
U.S. immigration law does explicitly allow two ways to self-petition for a green card; in addition citizens of certain countries are eligible for bilateral treaty-based temporary work visas as investors and business owners.
EB2 NIW: This is a self-sponsorship option which I have discussed in other posts, particularly in my primer here. I continue to believe that EB-2 NIW is perhaps the best route for mid-career professionals to immigrate and it is underutilized.
EB1A: EB1A is a green card option for people who can demonstrate they are extraordinary in their field for a sustained period. It is a very hard category (perhaps the hardest). It is a tempting category for sure and people can be successful pursuing it directly from abroad but often there are other ways to get the person into the US faster without filing an EB-1A. You can read more about the details and criteria for EB-1A here.
E-1/E-2 visas: Citizens of certain countries are potentially eligible for temporary work visas based on investments they make (or investments they direct or support) into the U.S. market. These visas are based on bilateral trade treaties. The list of qualifying countries is listed here.
Unfortunately countries like India and China and Brazil are not qualifying countries for E-1/E-2 treaty based visas, so citizens of those countries are not able to pursue E-1 or E-2 visas unless they gain citizenship in a “third country” making them eligible.
Some high net worth Chinese citizens have obtained third country citizenship and then used their third country citizenship for E-2 visa status. Obviously these exotic options are only available to a small subsection of the population.
04 - Family Sponsorship
U.S. immigration law does provide for options to be sponsored by family members. The most common option is when a foreign national marries a U.S. citizen. But even that option can be surprisingly (and frustratingly) slow. Often a U.S. citizen might be working outside the U.S. and meet and marry a foreign national. The process of getting a green card based on marriage can easily take a year (sometimes much longer); but it is still one way mid-career professionals immigrate to the United States so I mention it here to be comprehensive.
There are other family relationships that can facilitate immigration to the United States, including sponsorship by U.S. citizen children age 21 or older, or sponsorship by parents, or siblings.
The sibling petition process is extremely long. It might take 10 years or longer for a sibling petition process to be completed, so it is not particularly attractive, although some people like the idea of ‘getting in line’ to have an option several years in the future - perhaps not for themselves but for their children. If you are sponsored by a sibling who is a U.S. citizen, then you can immigrate but so can your spouse and unmarried children under age 21. So often sibling sponsorship is more accurately aunt or uncle sponsorship of nieces and nephews.
05 - Green Card Lottery (DV Lottery)
The United States conducts an annual lottery for green cards. It is called the “DV Lottery” where “DV” stands for “Diversity.” The lottery is only available to certain nationalities. Specifically it is available to citizens of countries where there is LESS immigration to the U.S. than other countries. That’s the idea of diversity - to give citizens of other countries (that immigrate less people) an opportunity to immigrate to the United States.
If your nationality is eligible, you can enter the lottery and if you win, then you and your family (spouse + unmarried children under age 21) can obtain green cards. An attorney is not required to register for the DV Lottery but sometimes an attorney is used to complete the process if your registration is chosen, that is, if your ‘lottery ticket’ is a ‘winning ticket’ - then sometimes people hire attorneys to help complete the process.
In some ways it seems ridiculous that a lottery is one way for people to obtain green cards - through random luck. But it is the law and it is definitely possible.
Note that the odds of winning the DV Lottery are very low, but on the other hand, there is basically no cost to participate and enter the lottery.
The registration period for the DV lottery is generally October each year. Everything for the lottery registration is done online.
You can read more about the lottery process on the official websites of the U.S. Department of State and the lottery itself. Be sure to review only information from official U.S. government websites about the DV lottery as there are a lot of scams.
These are two sites with credible, official information -
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-submit-entry1.html?wcmmode=disabled
https://dvprogram.state.gov/
Concluding Thoughts
For mid-career professionals, the options to move to the United States to live and work, as noted above, are unfortunately very limited. Employer sponsorship should be easier, but it is not. Being a middle-aged student is probably cost-prohibitive. And many would-be immigrants do not have family relationships that would facilitate immigration. Maybe you will get lucky in the DV lottery?
As I have stated in other posts on my newsletter, I continue to believe EB-2 NIW can be an attractive option for people from all over the world, but there is a lot of misunderstanding about the category.
I hope you will continue to review my posts to expand your understanding of U.S. immigration options (including EB-2 NIW) and your ability to utilize them.
To be clear, this post is no substitute for rigorous consideration of legal options with a qualified attorney, but hopefully this post provides a useful overview for a mid-career professional considering opportunities in the United States and to get bearings on the framework and options.
Thanks for taking time to read my newsletter.
Great overview of U.S immigration law options.