How to move to the USA to work in data science as a non-USA citizen?

SQL
Last updated: Nov. 9, 2023
2 mins read
Leon Wei
Leon

Have you ever considered moving to the USA to work in machine learning and data science in 2022?

We have summarized some best practices for you.

In the past years, the instamentor team has helped many US-based candidates to break into data science and land a job at FAANG. 

We’ve also got a chance to talk to many non-US-based job candidates interested in applying for data science and machine learning jobs for US technology companies.

The main reasons people want to move to the United States are the maturity of data science usage and meeting impressive peers.

Based on what I’ve seen, the best way to relocate to the US working in data science is for those that are not US citizens or do not have permanent residency (green card).

Join a US technology company’s international team first, then apply for internal transfer. 

Many of the FAANG companies have their international teams outside of the US, e.g., Amazon has a big office in Bangalore and Chennai in India, where they have hired hundreds of engineers and data scientists.

 Apple has a big Asia-pacific headquarters in Singapore with many great opportunities for data science, software engineering, product, and technology openings.

After joining the international team based in Singapore, you can try talking to your manager (often based in the united states) and applying for relocation.

If you are an individual contributor, the only work visa application is H1-B.

Due to the H1-B visa limit, you have to submit your application before April 1 every year. 
If your H1-B visa is approved, you still have to wait until October 1 for it to become activated before you can use your H1-B visa and relocate to the united states.

If you work hard and get promoted as a manager, there is another type of work VISA called O1 visa ( for those Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement. 
The best thing about an O-1 visa is that you can apply for it at any time of the year. 
I’ve seen managers successfully transferred from European countries to the united states with an O-1 visa.
 


Thining about applying for a USA tech job, need some help with your career planning while being outside of the USA, book a time with us and we will help you get started.



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