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IT Internship In the US For a Foreigner?
grk writes "I am from Europe, studying Business Informatics. I have plenty of IT-related work experience (from my part-time job and summer jobs) ranging from Project Management and Software Planning to Programming. In the 5th semester my curriculum has scheduled an internship for February 2009 preceding bachelor examinations and bachelor thesis. It will last for about three months. I would like to do my internship in the US, but I do not know how to start. Is it common to send unsolicited applications to companies in the US? Try the big corporations? Should I go for an employment agency? Which ones to choose from? What about the pay? Where I come from it is common to pay only a fraction of what your work is actually worth if it's called an 'internship.' Does this apply to the US as well? Any other recommendations?"
Unless you're a PhD student with a unique skillset, without authorization to work in the US you will not be able to get anywhere. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money for an employer to sponsor someone and it is highly unlikely any company will do that for a mere intern.
Generally internships with medium to large companies pay well, almost as much as an entry level full time employer. A small company or startup may not be able to afford that.
My school had mandatory co-ops (paid internships) in order to earn a bachelor's degree. In my experience, most companies paid interns between one half and two thirds the standard full time rate, after factoring in benefits. Without a degree or significant full time work experience, they rarely go higher.
On the other hand, it can be a great foot in the door if you do well; a company that may not have hired you full time under normal circumstances may be more favorably inclined if you demonstrate your skills in an internship. Many smaller companies won't hire new grads without a period of internship; they prefer to get a sense of your ability to contribute before committing to a full time offer.
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you could try to get an internship through an international organization called IAESTE. They have organizations set up in over 80 countries around the world to do internships abroad. Go to www.iaeste.org (or more specifically http://www.iaeste.org/network/index.html ) and choose your country of residence to see if your country has a chapter. If they do, you should be able to provide you with the necessary information about applying for an internship through them. You can also get information thru the IAESTE-US website: http://www.iaesteunitedstates.org/
Microsoft is known to hire many interns every year and plenty of them are not US nationals... in fact I know a couple in Redmond right now who do not hold a us passport.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
They have different programs that can get you a J Visa that you can work on for an internship. They also have a 'Work and Travel' program, which gives you more freedom in the jobs you can choose, but is limited to the summer.
Do you even work in tech? There are no unpaid internships here, except *maybe* in gaming. Internships in this industry pay better than starting salaries in many fields (teaching comes to mind). While you probably don't want to negotiate hard for better money, you'll always be paid decently as an intern- they want you to come on full time when you graduate.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
This advice is specific to silicon valley.
We hire interns as we would any other position (other than lowering the ar on the entry criteria), though we mostly look at Masters students. We expect unsolicited resumes, as we would with any position. We of course support students with the correct student visas (we didn't have a single American citizen apply for an internship last year - no joke), though the transition from intern to full-time employee if things go well can involve a month or two of not working because of said visa hassles.
We pay interns fairly. Not Google/Microsoft well (no one matches them), but our interns are effectively a paygrade lower than new college hires, and being hourly the benefits are minimal. It's the bottom of the payscale, but it's certainly not "work for free" or half pay or anything like that.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I should add that our interns were foreigners who were studying in America, so they already had student visas. Immigration law for students working is complicated, but any Silly Valley company with an internship program has a legal staff to handle this - you have to, as the pool of American citizens is too small to recruit from here (almost non-existant in Masters programs).
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I have to agree here. It is going to be tough for you to get a visa to work in the US for such a short period.
If your lucky, you might be able to get a J-1 visa but that does require sponsorship which your unlikely to get unless you have a 'friend' in a company willing to go through the process.
If you are British I would personally recommend you get a Working Holiday visa and go to Australia, Canada or Japan. The process to get such visa's is trivial.
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PS. I did this in reverse (to Europe from Canada) and it was an excellent experience both socially ;-) and professionally.
http://jobs.slashdot.org/
as for the personals. Just pretend to be a girl and you'll get mail all by itself. From the 1% that isn't too shy to mail a girl, that is.
on-topic: just talk to your favorite professors. It's the most likely way to succeed, especially when they already have contacts to US companies. If you want to figure it out all by yourself, then, well, good luck with that.
molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
I'm a Canadian going to a university in Canada which routinely sends 100+ students per term (4 months) to the US for internships/co-ops. I'm returning for my 3rd term with a US company in just under two weeks actually.
Disclaimer: things might be different from where you are due to agreements between countries.
Basically, the process for me has gone as follows: 1) Apply to US company intern positions 2) Get an offer after an interview 3) Start visa application process (J-1 visa).
The visa application can't start until you already have a job offer, and requires your company to submit a training plan to the visa sponsor (CDS International, for example) in order to issue the DS-2019 form. The visa sponsor is chosen by the host company. Since I'm Canadian, I bring this form to the border/airport with me, answer a few questions in immigration, and get my visa stamped in my passport.
Most large corporations will have done this before, and it's just another part of the routine.
The application process itself is relatively simple, with online forms that you need to fill out plus scanning some information. You will probably need to meet with a representative from your visa sponsor for an interview as well.
Visas are relatively inexpensive compared to salary. Companies that want to recruit the best employees in the world will pay the extra visa money, especially for an internship. It's not very expensive ($650 + a couple hundred in fees IIRC)
Baver
Because we have cheap universal health care, a strong economy, a low crime rate, everyone isn't armed to the teeth or carrying a concealed weapon, we aren't the perceived and hated enemy of most of the third world, our dollar is worth more than yours (although only marginally so), and generally we are a very likable and polite society? Because while we have an asshole in power at the moment (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) at least he isn't a complete criminal who should be impeached for violating his country's laws and his inauguration oath (as I see a lot of people claiming of GB Jr south of the border)? Because we don't have a DHS that is absolutely paranoid and prone to abuse its authority when you pass through the airport? Because in a National Geographic survey of the best and worst places to live (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/photogalleries/country-pictures/index.html?email=Places14Dec07) we ranked 4th in the world after Iceland, Norway, Australia, and the US ranked 12th(having dropped from 8th place in 2006)?
As well its worth noting we are our own independent country, and quite proud of it even if we don't shout it out loud the way many US citizens seem to do, so calling us "America Jr" is a shallow and meaningless insult. Canadians are very aware of how distinct we are from the US, and quite conscious of how pervading an influence US culture can be in overwhelming what makes us Canadian, but few if any consider that influence to be a good thing. The US has nothing to offer us that we don't already have.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
There is a trick to this. I presented at a conference in Germany, and was approached by a student about doing something similar to this at my company. Getting any kind of work visa is way to complicated - but a quick talk at the local university with a professor in the subject got him signed up as a "student exchange/internship", which made him eligible for a F1 student visa - and those (at least at the time) were a minimal time/effort thing to get.
My company wrote a "letter of support" to the university, guaranteeing a grad student level stipend, the university send out the I-20, the student took that to the embassy, done.
I'm aging rapidly, I bought a new game and had no idea if my machine was good for it.
An Australian (A commonwealth country) moving to Canada (A commonwealth country) probably falls under slightly different immigration rules, believe it or not. For example as a UK citizen I qualify for a 12 month work visa to countries like Australia or New Zealand, while non-commonwealth citizens may only qualify for a 6 month, or none at all.
The British Empire is still good for a thing or two, you know.
The company gets a huge tax break for any worker they bring in for an internship, and they can write off the visa expense.
It also depends on the country of origin. I'm from Canada, and my visa cost $56
Desire is not an occupation.
I'm from Canada, and my visa cost $56
My visa was over USD1000, you insensitive clod! Seriously, I am a professor in Brazil and my visa had expired. I could go to the embassy in Rio, where they would take something like 6 months to interview me. I had a conference I wanted to go, so I jump on a plane and fly across half of Brazil to get a visa in Brasilia, where it takes a day. Total cost, 120USD for tourist and business visa, 900USD for ticket, and 130USD for the hotel stay. Seriously, there are few people who would bother. This thing has SERIOUS long term implications for America. (Oh, by America I mean only the US).
Of course it's almost non existent in Masters programs, very few jobs require a Master's in CS and an awful lot of jobs will view you as overqualified if you get one. Not to mention the extra debt and time.
I am sure a college educated English speaker would be protected from any embarrassing questions about their legal status in those towns, right?
I don't know. As a completely legal foreigner I was certainly never exempt from being treated like someone trying to enter the country illegally everytime I crossed the border or dealth with the authorities (although I did once have trouble trying to persuade one idiot NOT to register me for voting when getting a US drivers license!).
While a certain level of caution is excuseable I used to find that they would regularly deliberately misconstrue whatever you say in the most convoluted and tortuous fashion possible in order to make you sound suspicious e.g. on returning to a visit to Niagara Falls a few months after just arrived in the US on a J1 visa they asked "what do you intend to do when the visa expires?" to which I replied "I don't know, I have not thought that far ahead - I have only just started my job here". Bad idea: apparently this is code for "I plan to remain the US, thumb my nose at your laws and be an evil foreign bastard" - and this was BEFORE the terrorist attacks. Apparently the "correct" response was "I will immediately leave and make no plans to return".
The sad thing was that at the time that was not at all true...but after several years of being treated as persona non grata US immigration moved me around to their way of "thinking" so to say.
Sure, you can get a job mowing lawns or cleaning houses if you want to work in the US illegally, but don't expect a software company of any reputation to hire you with no paperwork.
Work in the U.S. sucks. In many cases companies will offer you 2-3 weeks off on start. That's it. Yeah, they may attract you with a flashy salary, but then you'll have to pay for benefits, insurance, etc. and you're an at-will employee. Means that an employer can dismiss your ass w/o any reason. There is no such thing as taking 3 weeks of vacation at a time and then having 2 more weeks left over. Oh, and judging by the latest stats our European friends are just as productive as us, so I really doubt that you'll benefit from knowing how Americans do it here.
Silicon Valley may be a flashy name, but you must check your brains before moving there (trust me, I am a local). As a young person you probably want to meet young interesting people in nice social settings. Well, this is definitely not the place. The area is too expensive to live if you're young and there are not too many colleges around. Meeting chicks, especially the ones who are ready to party (if you know what I mean), is hard. So if you want to have some fun, SF area is not for you. Try Boston, Seattle or something more hip and less Indian than the Valley. Sorry if I offended anybody, but that's the truth. Also, every metro area is going to be expensive for somebody who is an intern. You must find roommates and have some stash of cash just to move in (first + last month of rent and a security deposit). You may try something in North Carolina's scientific triangle. It is more affordable and I hear that the quality of life is awesome compared to Silicon Valley.
If I were you, I would forget about moving to the U.S. Try to find a company that employes people who are passionate about technology and you'll learn a lot more than by working for a large company (in the U.S.) where your intern position will be one step above bean counting (if you are lucky). European countries are heavy on the next big things like eco technology, alternative sources of fuels, etc. This is where you would like to be. Just because you have a degree in IT, it does not mean that you can start working in a different industry. Judging by the articles that I read, places like Norway kick butt when it comes to leaping into the future. Finally, if you want to do something totally outrageous, see if you can go to a place like India to work there. As a Westerner who has worked in South Asia in the past, I can tell you that it is nothing like you have experienced in the past. Good luck.
I don't think so. The company gets to deduct the salary and other expenses, just like any other employee, but the companies I have worked for never got anything special for hiring interns that I knew about, and I was in management.
I was taught to respect my elders. The trouble is, it's getting harder and harder to find some.
I've found the RossettaStone program to be very useful. Nothing is as good as having a native speaker teacher, be this is about as good as the computer programs come.
The purpose of language is communication, If the idea is clear the grammar ain't important
If I was you I would consider Ireland: no problems with immigration, real possibility of getting a job there with a good pay.
There you could practice your english and make a foreign experience while holding all of your "citizen status", you could stay there as long as you want and you can move back and forward in case.
An other option would be Spain, which is growing fast and is a nice place as well for young people.
Yes, unless off course you plan to do it via tele-commuting. VISA has nothing to do with pay, see precise definition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_(document)
No Sig for you.!
"I'd say the important question for someone applying for a Canadian visa is "which forms do I fill out?""
This is utter horse shiznod. I studied in Canada and am familiar with quite a bit of their immigration policies and they are not as lax as all the Canadians in this forum seem to be putting them.
To qualify for a working visa you are required to meet various criteria (education, language - understandable, work experience, etc). Less stringent than applying for an H1B outside the States but nevertheless its still not as plain cut.
Furthermore you will be surprised to find out that it was much easier for my sister to get a study permit for the US (she now lives and works in Wisc) than it was for me to get a Canadian Study Permit. I waited 3 times longer than she had to wait, I had to go through twice as many medical tests and the interview people asked the dumbest questions of my intentions of studying there.
This despite that the job opportunities are rosier in the States and it has a larger scale economy.
No wonder American students are getting less and less competitive. They sit around expecting people to hand them jobs. Then when they can't find them, they blame the companies and college recruiters for discrimination and incompetence!
Back to the OP, I think it would be highly unlikely for a foreign student not studying in the US to get an internship here. Not to mention if you wanted to start in Feb, it's a bit late now because it takes a long time to process the visa.
It's easy enough to buy a fake social security card with a valid number, and that's all the proof employers are required to ask for. Illegals in my neck of the woods (Silicon Valley) often hold down fairly responsible jobs. There was an incident a few months ago in which a child was killed in a traffic accident. The driver's biggest headache was not her liability (not clear that it was her fault) but that she was undocumented. Now, this was not some Spanish-only immigrant driving from a communal flophouse to her house cleaning job. This was a fluently bilingual suburban housewife driving to her office job in her SUV.
That said, I'd hardly recommend this route for somebody who just wants to do a 3-month internship in a professional capacity. The safety and legal risks are huge. For somebody fleeing poverty or violence in Latin America, the risks might be worth it (and the necessary connections easier to make). But for a software person? Forget it. Not too much chance of doing jail time (though perhaps they'd want to make an example of somebody who came here to do professional work), but you could end up barred from entering the U.S. again, ever.
My employer has direct contact with several of the universities in the area (Boston). I recently (~two months ago) interviewed a handful of candidates and ended up hiring two. We only go through universities for finding candidates for our internship programs; we don't accept unsolicited résumés.
After working closely with one of these interns, I completed an evaluation for consideration as a full-time employee.
Have you driven a fnord... lately?
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