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How to answer 'Will you now or in the future require sponsorship?'
By Mehek Mandal · Updated
Answer yes if you will need an employer to sponsor a work visa, now or at any point in the future, to keep doing the job. For most international students on F-1 status that means yes, even while OPT covers you today, because OPT is temporary. Answer honestly every time. The question lets employers plan, and university career offices tell students never to give a false answer on it.
What the question is asking.
Sponsorship means the employer files paperwork with the US government so you can work for them, such as a petition for an H-1B visa. The question has two parts on purpose. Now covers today. In the future covers the rest of the time you would hold the job.
You will see it worded several ways: 'Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status?', 'Do you require sponsorship?' or 'Will you require visa sponsorship to work in the United States?'. They all ask the same thing.
If you are on F-1 OPT or STEM OPT.
USCIS describes OPT as temporary employment directly related to your field of study: up to 12 months, with a 24-month extension for eligible STEM degrees. Because it ends, most students on OPT who want to keep the job afterwards will need an employer to sponsor a work visa. That makes the honest answer yes.
Your authorization to work today is a separate question. Many applications ask both. Confirm your exact answers with your school's international student office, since your situation decides them.
When the answer is no.
If your right to work in the US does not depend on an employer, the answer is usually no. US citizens and permanent residents fall here. If your status is anything less clear, ask your international student office or an immigration attorney before you answer.
Answering yes without wasting applications.
Some employers do not sponsor. Read the posting for lines such as 'unable to sponsor' before you apply, and spend your time on employers that do.
The Litos jobs board has a filter for exactly this: Only jobs where the company sponsors a work visa. A job qualifies when its posting says sponsorship is offered or when the company has H-1B filings on record with the US government. A record of sponsoring is a strong sign, not a promise to sponsor you for a particular role.
How Litos answers it for you.
Litos answers work authorization and sponsorship questions only from what you told it. It does not guess from your school, your location or the job. If the answer is missing, it stops and asks you.
Your answer can change, for example when OPT is approved or a green card arrives. Update it in Litos when it does, and read these questions on every application before it is sent.
Questions.
Will answering yes get my application rejected?
At employers that do not sponsor, it can. That is why it pays to target employers that do. Answering no when the true answer is yes only moves the problem to later in the process.
I am on OPT right now. Do I answer yes?
Usually yes, because OPT is temporary and most people need sponsorship to keep the job afterwards. Confirm with your school's international student office.
What does 'require sponsorship for employment visa status' mean?
It is the same question in different words: will the employer need to file for a work visa for you to work there, now or later?
Can I answer no and sort it out after I get an offer?
Do not. The employer is planning around your answer, and university career offices tell students to answer it honestly and completely.
Sources and further reading.
Keep going.
Written by Mehek Mandal, founder of Litos.