Ask HN: Authorized to work in the US

3 points by 8611m 9 years ago | 4 comments

I wanted to know when companies say "Are you authorized to work in the US", do they mean if I will require future visa sponsorship?

I am authorized to work in the US, but I will require visa sponsorship. I am sure there are others who are confused about this.

codegeek 9 years ago |

By default, only US citizens and Permanent Residents(green card) are authorized to work for any employer without any sponsorship. So when companies ask this, it means they want to know if you are one of the 2 or not. Anyone else requires a work authorization like an EAD or some form of work visa.

timewarrior 9 years ago |

Say yes if you are Citizen, Green Card holder, any other EAD (H4, pending I-485), a valid H1 or F1 OPT, you can say YES.

codegeek 9 years ago | |

Be careful here. A Valid H1B does not mean "you are authorized to work in the United States". You are only authorized to work for that current employer. The new employer will have to file a new one (we call it transfer unofficially but it really a new application except that it doesn't count against quota etc like first time)

bsvalley 9 years ago |

Do you need sponsorship? Yes. That's what it means...