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Do US jobs sponsor visas or deprioritize candidates who need them?

In our January “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

Having had limited luck during the Fall job cycle, I’m now banking on something working out during the Spring cycle. However, I’m not a US citizen, and last year a few places turned me down because they wouldn’t sponsor a visa. My question is, how common is this? Some places explicitly mention not sponsoring visas, but my concern is that even the places that don’t mention it might deprioritize my application. I’d appreciate any experience people have in this area, since I’m trying very hard to stay in the country (I know…).

Do any readers have any helpful insights?

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8 responses to “Do US jobs sponsor visas or deprioritize candidates who need them?”

  1. Anonymous

    Anecdotally, this seems to have been common last cycle, but (again anecdotally) it principally seemed a problem for those applying from outside the US and who therefore did not have pre-existing visa/work rights.

    Reply
  2. unamerican anon

    I’m not a citizen, although I am in the US, like you. I’ve had some success this year. But no more or less than previous years: one or two interviews in the US, a bit more in Europe and Canada. I know that in some places (e.g. Texas) search committees are being instructed to screen out people who need any kind of sponsorship. But other places are limiting their searches to people who can apply for a change of status within the US and are just screening out applicants currently based outside the US. But it’s very hard to get a read on how common any of this is, and how it’s affecting the very small number of searches happening this year 🙁

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    I worked in the US as a foreigner, and of course some universities do just set files from non-Americans aside. It is quite expensive for a college to get a labor certificate (these legal documents state that there were no qualified American applicant). Indeed, many state colleges are running on very tight budgets, and they have to prioritize their spending. I worked at place where the January snow fall and the costs of snow removal could have a significant impact on the annual budget.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    Unfortunately, it is worse this year than in previous years, especially in red states. I know Ron DeSantis has instructed universities in Florida to not approve basically anyone who would need sponsorship. I believe these instructions are being objected to, but surely there are several departments in Texas, Florida, and other hyper-red states that will simply comply, whether b/c they are forced to or they simply are too afraid to try and fight back given the precarity of humanities already at many of these schools. I’m so sorry to not have better news. It is a true injustice.

    Reply
  5. Mike Titelbaum

    Unfortunately this depends highly on the university in question, the local context, and honestly how national politics develop on an ongoing basis. Some schools are just picking the best candidate regardless of visa status, then trying to work out the legalities after. Other schools (as mentioned above) have been forbidden from taking this approach. Also, even when a school wants to hire you, there can be variations in how many resources they are willing to devote to visa efforts (including attorneys’ fees, etc.). I don’t think it’s unreasonable to write to the committee chair or department chair and ask what the current approach is at their institution.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    Sad to say this, but even 10 years ago at a land-grant university in the midwest we were told to screen out applicants who would need sponsorship for VAPs (but not for TT jobs)

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    One Texan example:
    “Please note that UTA is not able to sponsor new H-1B visas for persons outside the US, for this position at this time.”
    https://philjobs.org/job/show/30842

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    I was/am currently on the market, already have a TT job in the US and currently have H1B status, and have been explicitly asked details about my visa status at positions where I am / was a finalist this cycle. This has happened for the first time in my career (and I’ve been part of multiple job search cycles).

    Reply

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