Goal:
To share options for non-tech jobs for people with H4/L2 EAD that will also help in securing a work visa or H-1B Visa. Those without an EAD can also follow this Guide as most of the points covered are applicable universally.
Context:
A lot of people have asked us to create a guide on this topic. And when that happens, you tend to overthink it and perfect it and make sure you can include everything that’s there. And that’s exactly what we were trying to do with this Guide. But we’ve decided not to delay it by trying to perfect it anymore. In fact, we’ll just go ahead and publish it and then take feedback from all of you on what’s missing and try to add it retroactively.
Sounds good? We hope it does.
And now some more Context:
So, what are we trying to do with this Guide?
First of all, the tone of this Guide is going to be quite conversational in nature. We want to feel as if we are talking to you rather than directing you to do certain things in return for something.
Having cleared this, let’s move on.
There are 2 primary objectives of this Guide. You can call it takeaways.
Highlight most, if not all the job opportunities in the US in Non-tech fields.
How to navigate the complex Visa system along with your Job hunt
You might be wondering, what you should do if you’ve had a career gap of more than 2-3 years. Don’t worry about it. Here's a wonderful Guide by Anjali Nair that will help you restart you career even after a Career gap.
Moving on with this Guide.
What we need is to share options for non-tech jobs that will also help in securing a work visa or H-1B Visa to be precise.
And it Begins:
First things first. Since our objective is to eventually find a job that will sponsor our own H-1B visa, what we first need to understand is what jobs does the USCIS considers as eligible for an H-1B Visa.
But where do we find that?
Thankfully, DHS actually publishes a detailed report every year.
You can check out the previous years’ report here
For those who do not like to read long reports and make sense of them, don’t worry. We did that for you. At least as much as was required for this Guide.
From the report, we’ve created the below list of Major Occupation Groups that have been Approved for H-1B Visas by USCIS in the past 2 years:
Computer-Related Occupations
Occupations in Architecture, Engineering, and Surveying
Occupations in Administrative Specializations
Occupations in Education
Occupations in Medicine and Health
Occupations in Mathematics and Physical Sciences
Occupations in Life Sciences
Occupations in Managers & Officials
Technical & Managerial Occupations
Occupations in Social Sciences
Occupations in Art
Occupations in Law & Jurisprudence
Occupations in Writing Misc
Occupations in Museum, Library & Archival Sciences
Occupations in Entertainment & Recreation
Occupations in Religion in Theology
Sale Promotion Occupations
And below is the list of Specific Occupations that was approved by USCIS
Accountants and Auditors
Architects
Biologists
Budget and Management Analysts
Chemists
Civil Engineers
College and University Educators
Database Administrators
Data Communication and Network Administrators
Economists
Electrical and Electronic Engineers
Investment Banking and Securities Dealing
Graphic Designers and Artists
Industrial Engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Physicians and Surgeons
Sales and Distribution Managers
Software Engineers
Statisticians
Surveyors
Systems Analysts and Programmers
Teachers, Primary and Secondary Schools
Therapists
Systems Analysis and Programming
Occupations in College and University Education
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Occupations
Occupations in Administrative Specializations, N.E.C
Occupations in Mathematics
Managers and Officials
Occupations in Computer Systems Technical Support
Miscellaneous Professional, Technical, and Managerial Occupations
Budget and Management Systems Analysis
Mathematics and Physical Sciences
As we can see from the above 2 lists that there are plenty of Jobs even in the non-Tech sector that are eligible for an H-1B Visa. And data says that H-1Bs have been sponsored for these jobs as well.
But what data also tells us is that almost 70% of approvals went to Computer Related fields. However, “Computer related” encompasses a lot of jobs and areas that could be non-tech in nature.
Therefore, we shouldn’t lose hope yet.
We should also consider the fact that we already have a Work Permit with us and securing our own H-1B is just one more option we want to have up our sleeves as a back up should we have to go through another phase of EAD extensions under the current backlog of applications with the USCIS.
Let’s take a step back now and see what we already know before we move on to the next part of this Guide.
We know that there are plenty of non tech jobs out there in the country and that there are employers who are sponsoring visas for these jobs
We also know that every year almost 70% of H-1B visas are allocated to individuals from a computer related field but that’s too broad an industry to include just tech-based jobs.
Part 2 of this Guide will speak about what steps one should take to land a job / role in one of the above fields where the employer will also sponsor your H-1B Visa.
Now friends, this part is actually quite difficult.
Because no one can guarantee that if you follow certain steps, you will land a job and a visa.
What we can do here is just share some best practices that have worked for a lot of people in the past irrespective of their field and visa Status.
So here we go.
Matching Your Background to H-1B Job Types
H-1B Visa is a specialty occupation Visa and in almost all cases requires you to have a specific background, in most cases at least a bachelor’s degree in the field you’re applying a job.
So, examine the employer's actual job description and requirements carefully to make sure that a degree is required and that you have a relevant degree (or the equivalent). The occupations on the list above merely serve as a starting point. They do not include every job that can qualify as a specialty occupation for purposes of the H-1B.
After identifying and matching your background to the H-1B Job types, comes the most difficult part of your job search – no, its not job application. It is actually deciding where to apply and more importantly, where not to apply.
Where to Apply & Where Not To
Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re applying a job with visa sponsorship in mind or not. This is step is extremely critical. Because the time spent in this phase of your job application is tears saved in the future.
In most circumstances, people will just blindly apply to all the open roles in any company. If only one could get a job by applying for them. Right?
But the real world doesn’t work that way.
Which is why the best thing for you to do is to first identify what kind of roles you can apply to and then research for companies that offer such roles. For those looking for a visa sponsorship, they also need to apply a separate filter on companies that are willing to sponsor visas.
Targeting is the foundation stone for finding your job in the USA. However, it's the first step of a long quest! What you now will need to focus on is your resume and cover letter!
Resume, Cover Letter and LinkedIn Profile
We won’t be spending too much time on this point. Because by now, everyone knows that these are important and these need to be in place before you even think of applying for jobs anywhere.
There are multiple Blogs and Guides and articles out there that teach you how to improve your LinkedIn skills, how to grow your audience there as well as how to approach potential recruiters there. And therefore, we won’t be talking about those here.
Some might also differ in opinion when it comes to Cover Letters. But then, it doesn’t kill to have at least a generic one ready before you start applying for jobs. Agreed, that 99% of the times it won’t be read. But as most experts have agreed, it may not be necessary but it good to have one just in case.
As a reminder, before continuing your search to find a job in the USA, you need to:
Have a firm idea of what job you are looking for
Target only companies that are used to sponsoring the kind of visa for which you are qualified
Have a strong resume, cover letter, online presence, and plenty of recommendations
From here on whether you have a tech background or a non tech background, whether you are looking for a company that sponsors visa or not, everyone needs to do the same thing –
Apply for Jobs
We won’t go into the details of how to apply, how to tailor your Resumes, how to prepare for your Resumes. Because it is quite subjective and because frankly, we’re not the experts. There are plenty of people, experts in fact, helping Immigrants in this field and we suggest you reach out to them.
What we can do is lay down the 4 basic Application Strategies:
Job Application Strategies:
Once you have everything to start your job search actively, here are the 4 strategies you should use:
Online Job Application – when you apply to online open jobs
Spontaneous Application – when you send your application to a company with no current open jobs.
Through Your Network – when you are recommended by someone you know. In short, networking. Everyone knows how important it is to land a job in this country. With the right network, you’ll at least have the guarantee that your Resume reaches the right person. After that, it’s your skills, background and job fit.
Direct Approach – when you directly contact the right internal people without knowing them. For this, you need a killer LinkedIn Profile and a solid opening when you are cold messaging people who are not in your network. The hit rate for this approach is not the best, but it seems to work for a good number of people.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now, Some Important Things to keep in mind
When Should You Bring Up Sponsoring During the Interview Process?
If you’ve already filtered your job search by companies that sponsor H-1B visas, then you shouldn’t need to worry. If you decided instead to take a chance at a position that isn’t for international applicants, but that you really want and are exceptionally qualified for, you should be upfront with your interviewer and make them aware by the second round of interviews at the latest, that you need H-1B sponsorship.
Impress them with your skills and what you bring to the table in the first interview. Convince the company that you are the best person for the position, they’ll be happier to sponsor you.
Have your heard of H-1B Cap Exempt
There is a yearly limit of 65K on the no. of new H-1B Visas that can be made available. However, there are 2 industries specifically, that do not fall under this restriction and can sponsor Visas year-round without any limit.
Jobs that fall under cap exempt:
Higher Education Jobs
Non-Profit Jobs
Be Your Own Boss:
While the rest of the Guide speaks about methodically applying for jobs and cracking that one coveted job that you had your eye on. In this final section, we just want to tell you something that we really believe in.
You Work Permit i.e., your H4 and L2 EADs allow you to not just have 1 job. But it allows you to have multiple jobs as well as start your own business.
And that is the germ of an idea we want to leave you with in this Guide.
Think about having your small business. No pressure of applying for a job, no saying yes to tasks you do not like, no unwanted meetings. Just you and your passion.
We say this because It’s Ok Yaar was born out of this germ of an idea. We are not saying that we are successful yet. But are we happy that we’re doing this?
Hell yeah.
Conclusion
We hope this guide was helpful.
Like we said in the beginning of this Guide, if you feel that there’s something missing and you want more information on it, do comment below and we’ll make improvement to this Guide by adding them.
Job hunt in the US is an extremely mind numbing and humbling process. But given the right approach and mindset, it is not impossible at all. Especially now, when there is a labor shortage in the market.
So, good luck with everything.
Comments