[Matthew Scot]

Hi!

1. Foreign National studying in a school (university) in New York under F1 Visa.

2. Graduating with a double major in accounting and info tech management. (GPA:3.79)

3. CPA eligible by May 2014.

4. I have an internship (not accounting) during Sept -Dec 2013 and a couple of decent extra curricular activities.

5. I would be applying for a job or/and internship in Sept-Oct 2013.

What are my chances of getting a job or/and internship at the big 4? They do come to my school to recruit.

I know many companies are hesitant about recruiting foreign nationals.

But anyone have an experience on how the big 4 deal with it? Are they completely for it or?

How are the opportunities at Big 4 for me?

Any thoughts or Advice would do.

Thanks a lot in advance.

[Matthew Scot]

They are almost 25 views but no one replies or puts their thoughts here 🙁

[Topsya]

hey @Matthew

your questions are very specific and any non-immigrant most likely would not be able to answer them for you. I almost guarantee you, that an average American does not know what kind of a visa is an F1 visa and that there are different types even….

I am an immigrant myself and I can somehow relate to your situation.

First of all, you need to ask the recruiters these questions. You would need to be as its called “sponsored” by the company which hires you. I am pretty sure not every company is eligible for that and it depends on the company's status (it has to be an international company some sort)

You foreign citizenship would never be a problem if you are a good fit for a right company. You should def. go for it if that's something you want to do.

Good luck!

AUD - 90
FAR - 83
BEC - 81
REG - 80
ETHICS - 100

[Anonymous]

I assume you would need a work visa after the F1. I am not sure if this even works?

I was here with J1 and wasn't subject to the 2 year clause, so it worked.

The visa will be very expensive and time consuming for your company. So you must be a real benefit for the company that they are willing to go on this path. Furthermore you need to be really special in term of skills (for example language) in comparison to any other US applicant.

BTW: last year the contingent for work visas was around 65k and they had 125k applications. In the end they started a lottery for just this work visas which means only 50% could get it. And it does not matter if you want to work Big4 or any other tiny company, everyone has the same chance.

Also the deadline is always April for the upcoming Oct/Nov. so the earliest you could start would be fall 2014.

So if you have special skills and your company is willing to pay a lot of extra Dollars for this, go for it. With a little luck in the lottery you get the work visa next year.

Also there is the regular Greencard lottery which is free.

[Topsya]

Cessna, I would disagree with your statement that “The visa will be very expensive and time consuming for your company”. For the companies which employ foreign citizens it is a very routine process and it costs almost as much as an individual visa application.

AUD - 90
FAR - 83
BEC - 81
REG - 80
ETHICS - 100

[Anonymous]

Maybe $2,500 in fees and about $5,000 for the immigration lawyer (all the big companies are using a lawyer and not doing it on their own) isn't a lot for you but seems a lot to me, don't forget it's only good for 3 years.

So a potential employer will be asking himself if this is really worth it, especially if there is only a 50% chance.

[Topsya]

@Cessna I am only saying that because my company does it all the time – “sponsors” the foreigners.

For a big international company $7,500 is not a big expense, especially if we are talking about 3 years

AUD - 90
FAR - 83
BEC - 81
REG - 80
ETHICS - 100

[lalap]

@Matthew

Big 4 sponsored F1 student left and right (i was one of them). I think you have a good chance to get interview because of your GPA and internship experience. Make sure that you are active member (or even better hold a leadership position) at organizations like BAP, Ascend, ALPHA. Always talk to the recruiter, send thank you emails, etc.

Passed

[Matthew Scot]

@Topsya and Cessna

Thanks a lot topsya and Cessna for the reply : )

I am guessing that if and when they offer me job, they would already consider the fact that they would have to pay for the visa sponsorship which would account anywhere between 5G to 10G which then perhaps [“I am not sure about the next part”] would eventually seep into the salary that I would be given (such as a lower salary or fringe benefits or something similar).

This amount is not much when the big 4 are recruiting. Also the costs come down on average when firms hire larger number of foreigners like Deloitte which sponsored about 4700 foreigners just last year I suppose.

I am not really worried about it being just for three years although I would love if I could work longer than that.

@Topya and lalap

Thanks for the reply! I was hoping if you could tell me what companies you were hired from, a little about your background and the hiring experience. I understand if you don’t want to share. I am asking as I am very curious to know. I am sure you were in my position sometime in the past. If you were to share, it would be helpful to calm my nerves about the hiring process.

PS. If you don’t like to share publicly, you could just email me too 🙂 (Under location in my profile page)

Anyone else who is a foreigner and would like to share their hiring experience is welcome to do so too.

[hnacpa]

Here a list of companies that sponsor for H1B-Visas. You can find answers to most of you questions here: https://www.myvisajobs.com/

I can't find find your email but leave it as a comment and I will try to answer any questions you may have.

https://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2013-H1B-Visa-Sponsor.aspx

FAR:71,73
AUD:83
REG:
BEC:

[FindaJob]

Big 4 firms would happily sponser you if you impressed them man,

Dress to impress, be confident, u look good on paper man… its just a matter of how you sell yourself.

Your best shot is with a big 4… when i was applying, i dont think that the other cpa firms sponsored internationals for any entry level position.

Good luck man My best tip would be for you to actually be excited for what u would learn, be enthusiastic, and Go get them.

They wont pay you any less if u were hired. Good luck 🙂

two to go !

[Author]

Replies