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T2 International Student

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:48 pm
by Anonymous User
As an international student at a T2 in a large East Coast city (Boston/Philadelphia), I am wondering about my BigLaw chances. I am well within the top 5%. I went to undergrad in the same city as my law school but those are the only ties I have to the city. Also, although I speak English fluently, I do have an accent (and not the kind that many traditionally consider "charming" like British or French). My accent isn't strong but it is noticeable.

Will being a non-citizen affect my BigLaw chances?

Re: T2 International Student

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:05 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:As an international student at a T2 in a large East Coast city (Boston/Philadelphia), I am wondering about my BigLaw chances. I am well within the top 5%. I went to undergrad in the same city as my law school but those are the only ties I have to the city. Also, although I speak English fluently, I do have an accent (and not the kind that many traditionally consider "charming" like British or French). My accent isn't strong but it is noticeable.

Will being a non-citizen affect my BigLaw chances?
Also an international student here. My (uninformed) recommendation would be that you make sure you understand the visa system so if you get any questions, you can explain things. In particular, you should know if you would be going the usual H1B route or if there's a special visa (e.g., TN or other treaty visas). Also, have an answer ready for the "Why USA?" question that will inevitably be asked.

You should also be aware that it is lawful and not a violation of most law schools' antidiscrimination policies to deny someone a job based on the fact that they would need a visa (green card holders are, however, protected). That's irritating, but that's just the way it is.

Re: T2 International Student

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:21 pm
by cinephile
I'm not an international student, so I couldn't say for sure, but a friend of mine is and she couldn't find anyone willing to sponsor her visa to work here for the summer despite being otherwise competitive. So she worked in London biglaw (she's non-EU fwiw). It ended up working out.

Re: T2 International Student

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:21 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Also an international student here. My (uninformed) recommendation would be that you make sure you understand the visa system so if you get any questions, you can explain things. In particular, you should know if you would be going the usual H1B route or if there's a special visa (e.g., TN or other treaty visas). Also, have an answer ready for the "Why USA?" question that will inevitably be asked.

You should also be aware that it is lawful and not a violation of most law schools' antidiscrimination policies to deny someone a job based on the fact that they would need a visa (green card holders are, however, protected). That's irritating, but that's just the way it is.
My recommendation is assuming you are looking for a 2L summer job, do not even mention you are international (i.e. don't place it on your resume or bring it up yourself during interview). As for the summer, all you need is CPT, and that is done on your end with your school, employers do not have to do anything different to hire you than any other domestic student.

Once you secured a 2L SA, do everything you can to convince the employer that they should extend you an offer you despite being international. You asked whether being an international student will impact your chance of getting a job. I think the answer is absolutely yes, employers are extremely reluctance to hire internationals. I received my UG degree from a T10 engineering school, and most employers wouldn't even accept resumes from international students, I would not expect law school to be much better if any. The way I see it is for an international to get the same position, you must be over qualified than your domestic counterpart to even have a chance. So while the job market is tough for all law students, it is even harder for an international student.

Re: T2 International Student

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 9:36 pm
by Anonymous User
OP here. Thanks for the responses. In addition to the visa issue, I'm nervous about the interviewing aspect, too (i.e. - questions about ties and the accent).

Re: T2 International Student

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 9:15 am
by obobs
Hi OP,

I'm also an international student with an accent at a T30. Don't worry about ur accent. It's a part of who you are and it will show in the interview no matter what. I will advise that you use this to your advantage by showing that you have multi-cultural skills and can work with people from diverse backgrounds. Pm me if you have any other specific questions on how I handled my interviews.

I wish you all the best

Re: T2 International Student

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 9:23 am
by Anonymous User
speaking with a foreign accent is ok. There is a huge difference between a strong, awkward accent and an unobtrusive, and/or pleasant accent. a lot of chinese who have lived in the US/UK for a long time still carry an accent but that is more like a mixed american/british/asian accent.

Re: T2 International Student

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 4:51 am
by Anonymous User
I'm also an international student. Just graduated median from a T14 and will be going to a V50 law firm in NYC. From my experience, nobody cares whether or not you're international. For big law firms, the cost of applying for an H1-B is negligible. They really, really don't care. Other types of companies/ smaller law firms might mind because its still a few thousand dollars and they probably have to hire an immigration attorney and nobody in the firm really understands the process. However, larger law firms will have done this a thousand times and it'll be very routine for them. I got 5 offers during OCI and they all told me applying for an H1-B was a non-issue. It never even came up until I got an offer.

The accent would worry me just a little more. Some of my other international friends had a little more trouble finding jobs, and they think its because of their accents. During interviews, it's really important to be able to bond with the associate you're interviewing with, and sometimes an accent can just create an instant gap. One of my friends said she had a hard time developing rapport even though she's actually one of the most interesting and funny persons I know. She said that they just asked her a bunch of things about China and her chinese education background even though she has been in the US for 8+ years now. So I would just be mindful of that. Don't let the accent get in the way of connecting with your interviewers.