I just got the following message from a user on this forum and I thought I'd share my answer in case anyone else was wondering about the same thing!
Quote:
Can you throw some light on what type of Finance roles offer H1-B Visa. Have heard that I Banks do the same. How about Fortune 500 companies for their corporate Finance division ? Is going to school outside Top 20 going to limit the chances of landing a job in Finance (excluding investments)?
Let me answer that in two parts. Both are difficult to answer with certainty but they're directional so hopefully that's helpful.
Fortune 500 Finance: On average, these aren't exactly the roles that require or attract a lot of foreign MBA talent. That's not to say they DON'T hire internationals, but the frequency and the raw number are just less. This will help put it into perspective. The average I Banking tenure is pretty short. A few years on average. Attrition is really high. So the big banks need new talent constantly. Also, the stakes are really high. Much higher than average! So they want the best and the brightest. Fortune 500 finance roles, on the other hand, don't see anywhere near that level of attrition. There is increasing job jumping but even the most liberal estimates of that put it a far distance from other finance roles. Additionally, the compensation is lower because the demands and pressures are less (among other things). By no means am I saying I Banking or Asset Management are better, they're just different. So could you get a sponsored job at a Fortune 500 in their Finance department? Sure. But the odds of that are less, on average, than other Finance roles.
The University You Attend: This varies vastly from institution to institution and student to student. The general rule of thumb is the better the level of school you go to, the more opportunities are available, on average. Now, you could go to #40 and knock it out of the park or go to MIT and flounder - there are a lot of variables at play. But, on average, the better the degree, the more doors open. This also goes back to my earlier point - can they make a case for sponsoring you? If you go to Columbia for finance, the case is easier. It's a world famous program, an Ivy League, and your competition pool is much smaller. If they need a top 10 MBA, you're competing against fewer applicants. So you're more valuable and have more cards to play. However, if the role is open to anyone with an MBA, then why would they sponsor you from #40 when they could get a domestic employee from #39? Or #41?
What I've detailed above is directional at best and relies heavily on average scenarios. Your MBA experience is your own. You could go somewhere that isn't a top 20 and have an amazing career or go to a top 20 and have a mediocre one. It's all up to you!
Bhavik