Would a law firm sponsor a work visa?

alwaysamom
Fri, 16 May 2014 13:56:04 +0000

J21, you could certainly attend college and law school in the U.S. on a student visa but no one here can tell you what the likelihood is of you getting a job and being sponsored by an employer. That is too far down the road to even guess at and will depend on many factors in the intervening years. People here are being a bit harsh about the possibility of working in the U.S. if you are not a permanent resident or citizen. It does happen and isn’t as “infinitesimal” as some may believe. Becoming a U.S. citizen is an entirely different matter and process.

You might want to consider Canada. Gaining entry to law school here is much more difficult but if you do well in undergrad, score well on the LSAT, and have some interesting soft factors, you’ll have a good chance. You will face similar issues in remaining and working in Canada, unless you have an ancestral/familial right to Canadian citizenship.



Canada needs bilingual lawyers versed in Common Law and Civil Law,



French language skills and training in Civil Law are only required in Quebec.



And YES – the likelihood of a law firm sponsoring a just graduated student is infinitesimal.



Again, it happens every year with Canadian grads. So, while there’s no way to know if J21 will be a top student who might be one of those that a firm is interested in hiring, it does happen. U.S. firms hold OCIs on Canadian law school campuses every year and students from those schools go to work for U.S. firms every year.

J21, you’d be far better off, for many reasons, coming to Canada instead. Less expensive education, both undergrad and law school, better job prospects, and the better quality of life issues that exist here. You’re still young, and presumably will be applying this fall for September 2015, right? Have a look at some Canadian university websites and perhaps read through the Canada section of the International Students forum here. Another resource is OUAC, which will give you information on all Ontario universities, for both undergrad and law.

http://www.ouac.on.ca/

Schools in other provinces do not have a similar umbrella organization so you’d have to look at individual sites, e.g., UBC, McGill, University of Victoria, and others.

Good luck to you!