How to find a job in the US as a foreigner

There is no free-movement zone. Unless you are a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), you need specific permission to work, and every employer must check it on your first days in the job. In practice there are three groups.

• Green card holders, and people with an employment authorisation document (EAD), such as some refugees, asylees, students on OPT and some spouses: you can apply like a local candidate, within the limits of your document.
• People who need an employer-sponsored visa: the H-1B for degree-level jobs, the L-1 for transfers within a multinational, the O-1 for extraordinary ability, the TN for Canadians and Mexicans and the E-3 for Australians. Our US work visa guide compares them.
• People with no route yet: without an offer from a sponsoring employer, there is usually no way to come and look for work. The US has no general job-seeker visa.

US immigration rules have changed often since 2025, including the H-1B selection process and fees. USCIS and the State Department decide every case. Treat this page as orientation, and check USCIS before you resign from a job or book a flight.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects which occupations will grow fastest. For 2025–35 its list is led by nurse practitioners (41%), solar photovoltaic installers (37%), data scientists (35%), wind turbine service technicians (30%) and medical and health services managers (24%). Healthcare, clean energy and data work dominate the top of the list.

Growth is not the same as sponsorship, and some of these roles, such as nurse practitioner, need US licensing before you can practise. For people who need a visa, the realistic targets are degree-level roles where employers already hire internationally. Universities and research institutes are also worth targeting, because they are exempt from the H-1B cap.

Use a mix of official and commercial channels, and put most of your effort where hiring actually happens: referrals and company career pages.

• Company career pages: most large employers post roles there first, and their applicant tracking system is where your resume is filtered. Check each ad for a line on visa sponsorship.
• LinkedIn and Indeed: the biggest general boards. Use LinkedIn to find the hiring manager and alumni from your university who work at the company.
• USAJOBS: the federal government’s job site. In general you must be a US citizen or national to work for the federal government, so it is mainly for citizens.
• Your state’s job bank and local American Job Center: public services that are most useful once you are in the US and authorised to work.
• University careers services: if you studied in the US, your careers centre and alumni network are the best sources of employers used to hiring international graduates.

Expect a funnel. An applicant tracking system stores your resume, and a recruiter screens it, often in seconds, for matching titles, keywords and results. Next comes a 20–30 minute recruiter call, then one or more interviews with the hiring manager and team. Many employers add a skills test or case study. References and background checks usually come at the end, just before the offer.

US interviews reward direct, specific self-promotion that can feel boastful in other cultures. Behavioural questions (“Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager”) are standard. Answer with a short STAR story: situation, task, action, result. Our STAR method examples show the shape.

Salary is often raised early, sometimes in the first call. Research the range before you talk, and if you need a visa, remember that a higher wage level also improves your H-1B selection odds. Our salary negotiation guide covers the conversation.

Every US employer must complete Form I-9 with you. You fill in Section 1 no later than your first day, and the employer checks your original documents and completes Section 2 within three business days. You choose which documents to show from the official lists: either a List A document, such as a green card, an employment authorisation document (EAD), or a foreign passport with an I-94 record showing work authorisation for a specific employer, or one document from List B plus one from List C. An employer may not demand specific documents, and doing so may be unlawful discrimination.

Many employers also use E-Verify, a free online system that checks your I-9 information against Department of Homeland Security and Social Security records. It is mandatory for certain federal contractors and in some states. If you are on the STEM OPT extension, your employer must be enrolled.

• Social Security number: if you don’t have one yet, apply with the Social Security Administration. You may leave the field blank on the I-9 while you wait, unless your employer uses E-Verify, which requires it.
• Health insurance: most people get it through their employer. If you don’t, lawfully present immigrants, including work-visa holders, can generally buy coverage on HealthCare.gov.
• Bank account and address: you will need both for payroll. Your employer’s HR team can tell you which documents local banks ask for.

If you are already authorised to work, a focused search typically takes several months. If you need an H-1B from a capped employer, the calendar is fixed: the employer registers you in March, a selected petition can be filed from 1 April, and the earliest start date is 1 October. In practice that means securing an offer by early in the year for a start in the autumn, with no guarantee of selection.

The L-1, O-1, TN and E-3 are not tied to that calendar, and cap-exempt employers can file for an H-1B at any time. That is why those routes are worth checking first.

Foreign job seekers are a favourite target. The Federal Trade Commission is blunt: honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. A placement firm that asks for an advance fee is probably a scam, and so is anyone who sends you a cheque to deposit and asks you to send part of it on.

USCIS adds its own warnings. Job offers by email before you arrive and fake visa-lottery notices are common schemes. USCIS never asks you to send money to an individual, and government email addresses always end in .gov. Notarios públicos are not authorised to give immigration legal advice in the US; use a licensed attorney or an accredited representative.

There are about 2,300 American Job Centers, run under the Department of Labor’s workforce programmes, that offer job search help, job referrals and placement help. Find your nearest one through CareerOneStop or the Department of Labor’s helpline, 1-877-US-2JOBS. Upwardly Global, a nonprofit, offers free programmes for immigrants, refugees and asylees who have professional credentials and work authorisation.

The rest of this cluster goes deep on one situation each: US work visas, the US resume and cover letter, working after graduation on OPT and finding work as a refugee or asylee.