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The LCS teams get around this by just putting out an ad in the newspaper saying "LCS players needed". Then they say welp we tried, but the locals are unqualified.
The LCS teams get around this by just putting out an ad in the newspaper saying "LCS players needed". Then they say welp we tried, but the locals are unqualified.
Boy, I wish US immigration was that easy. I'm an engineer and am currently in the process of moving to the US and I wish the truth was closer to this meme than it actually is.
What you're referring to is specifically for visas where the company has to demonstrate to the united states that an individual has specialised knowledge that cannot be fulfilled by a comparable American, or when someone is getting a permanent labour cert from USCIS in lieu of a degree. This is usually for L1 class visas (or green cards), which pro players would generally not qualify for when joining a new team. Applying for an L1 and in particular a labour certification is very difficult and requires more steps than just posting an ad in a newspaper :')
Pro players would be admitted into the US likely under a P1 visa, which has no requirement for an organisation to prove that it tried to find a suitable employee among Americans to fill the position (in fact, if you google "P1 visa esports" the first result is an article about the LCS)
Hope everything goes well for you dude.
I don't know where you're moving from, but the culture shock, even for me as a Brit, hit quite hard. Took some getting used to.
I am Welsh; I've been in the US for about 6 mo of the past 6 years, so it's not something I'm entirely new to. Appreciate the warning tho~
If you're an engineer, you could also be applying for a H1B Visa. Of course, it is from a lottery pool and there is no guarantee you get one., but if you have a graduate level degree you'd have better chances.
In terms of PERM Labor Certification, it is definitely more steps than just putting out a newspaper ad, but this is not uncommon practice among immigration law firms to fulfill one of the requirements needed to complete the process. Of course this differs from occupation to occupation and is favored towards more specialized/technical degrees/workers.
You are correct that, this does not really apply to the players. The process for esports players is still mostly uncharted and there is minimal precedent to work off of, so it is definitely harder for orgs to do that, especially when countries are cautious about COVID.
To be clear, I'm not offering legal advice, just sharing some knowledge from the experience I have with working with an immigration law firm.
If you're an engineer, you could also be applying for a H1B Visa
Not without a degree I cannot :-) I'd need 12 years of experience to be considered equivalent to an individual with a BSc, which I also do not have. L-1's the most appropriate visa for me, anyway, as it's an intra-company transfer rather than me applying for a new visa. I can't see why one would want to apply for a H1-b given the lottery if L-1b is an option
In terms of PERM Labor Certification, it is definitely more steps than just putting out a newspaper ad, but this is not uncommon practice among immigration law firms to fulfill one of the requirements needed to complete the process. Of course this differs from occupation to occupation and is favored towards more specialized/technical degrees/workers.
I'm just tired of people pretending that US immigration is super easy. Seems to be a really common perspective, and it is reallllly not. So many forms...