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I am a 3L and have to choose between two options (both corporate). I am an international student who will participate in the H1b lottery. Both firms will sponsor twice, so two shots at the lottery.

Option 1
Top Tx firm in its HQs (Houston office):
Pros - 1. hours are relatively reasonable (worked over the summer: hours def better than NYC biglaw). I have a family and would appreciate having the ability to be back home by 6 for dinner and logging back on.
2. I really liked the people there.
3. Houston sounds better for myself and family: more space for kids, lower COL, warmer weather.
4. Don't mind being pigeonholed into energy; have pre-law background in it.

Cons: 1. this firm doesn't have a strong overseas presence/name brand. If I strike out in the lottery, I would have to work in a satellite office for at least a year and then hope to lateral if returning stateside becomes difficult.
2. Visited Houston over the summer for a few days and really liked it. But for some reason, if we start hating the city, there may not be too many geographic options for someone with no ties to any other city in the US.


Option 2
V10 in NYC HQs:
Pros -
1. Top-notch training, highly rated practice group (being assigned a specific practice group, no rotation)
2. Very strong name brand overseas; more offices abroad. If visa doesn't work out, I would be well placed to lateral to another firm overseas

Cons - 1. My family is not a fan of the NYC winters.
2. Given the high COL and big city feel, I would end up commuting from NJ/CT (waste of time).
3. Hectic lifestyle given it's NYC biglaw.

Please advise along with reasons.

Many face this dilemma and I made a similar decision. If it’s not V&E, I wouldn’t even consider this further.

Assuming it is V&E, there’s no wrong decision here. You can easily lateral to KE/LW/etc Houston down the line if you want, and once you’re in biglaw for a few years it’s relatively easy to lateral around even to different markets, especially in this market. I would go Houston, assuming you fit in there (very good ole boys culture). Your family will enjoy it much more based on what you’ve said thus far (add in a house and a yard and I’m sure they’ll appreciate that), you’ll have a lot more money and you’ll still get great experience and be able to hop around later if you want.

Try not to agonize over this too much. Most people move locations and firms. It’s not that big of a deal and is bound to happen regardless of which of these you pick.

OP here. Grateful for the advice! Honestly if it were not for visa issues, I won't even have considered 3L recruiting.
Anyone other views?

Sounds like Texas it is. It is a better fit for you: you like it better there, you like the area of law, you'll have more money and it will cost less. Come your second/third year, you can still quite easily lateral, it's not like Texas is a hellhole that nobody wants associates from.

Even if you strike out with the visa situation, you'll still have a good amount of experience under your belt, making it easier to return stateside eventually (going to NY won't substantially improve that, I think), and again, it is not like Texas is a hellhole, you'll still be popular abroad, but it will require more work on your end to find something, true.

Additionally, if you strike out, I believe you can enroll as a student or something perhaps and extend your visa? I'm not an expert, but one of my friends who struck out once considered something like that.

Go to Houston if V&E. Biglaw is hard and you want to give yourself and your family every chance possible to enjoy life while you're working the intense hours. As the response above noted, you can always lateral elsewhere later. DM if you have any questions.

Yeah and if you can put yourself in a position in Houston that makes you a desirable lateral (preferably a transactional associate at V&E or BB doing something broad like M&A or capital markets) then you can just swap over to a place like Kirkland or Latham eventually. They’re V10s with big international presence, and very large/profitable Houston offices (meaning you wouldn’t be transferring from some backwater satellite). That would seem to give you the benefits of your Houston and NYC offers at the same time.

One thing I will note is that I've heard first hand of two V10s that could not secure Visas for juniors through the lottery and allowed them to move to one of their international offices + supported them 100%.