Travelling to the US on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to attend a job interview
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 24 Jul, 2023
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Answering yes to the “Are you seeking to work in the U.S” question will result in your esta being denied.
Getting one esta denied can mean that you will never be able to get an esta again for any other reason.
This isn’t a full answer to the question of how you should travel for the purpose of a job interview, but I would strongly recommend not answering yes on an esta application.
Either apply for a visa or or answer no and take your chances.
The currently accepted answer seems outdated, but this question is still the top Google result for “esta job interview”, so here’s my recent experience:
- The immigration officer didn’t even bat an eye when I said I’m here for a job interview.
- He did ask for the company name and how long I’m staying, so it’s probably a good idea to make sure you remember those to avoid raising unnecessary suspicions.
Currently this is explicitly allowed for Citizens of Australia prospectively seeking an E-3 Visa. (Must return,re-enter, and waive any residency aspirations).
see https://athens.usembassy.gov/australian_professional.html
Other nationalities should check on a continuous basis as these conditions change with the stroke of a pen. In the past seeking employment (before H1B obtained etc.) was expressly prohibited.
Basically if you are not from Mexico, Canada, Australia, you need to be really sure.
Speaking from first-hand experience, I can say with certainty that YES, you CAN use the VWP in order to enter the US to attend a job interview, either for a job in the US or for a job outside of the US.
A VWP is functionally equivalent to a B1/B2 visa (they often actually write B1 or B2 on the entry stamp to designate this!), and there are no other visas that would allow you to attend a job interview, so clearly B1/B2, and thus VWP, is the correct status.
That’s not to say that you won’t have some trouble on entry. The fact that you are entering the country to attend a job interview will immediately put the immigration agent on alert that you are potentially entering the country to actually ‘work’, which is NOT allowed under a VWP.
As with any entry to any country, at the end of the day it is up to the immigration officials to decide if they will let you into the country – if they believe you are there to actually work, you will be denied entry, regardless of whether you have a visa or not (other than a work visa, obviously). If they believe that you are there simply for a job interview, and that you will not be paid for anything that you do in the country (other than expense reimbursement), then you will be allowed enter.
I would suggest carrying as much documentation as possible to show that you are not intending to stay and work on this visit. Examples of this would include a letter from your prospective employer clearing stating that you are only entering the country for a short period for the interview, that you will be returning to your home country after a few days, and that if you are successful in obtaining the job then they will proceed to support your application for a relevant work visa in the future. Also make sure that you have a printout of your return ticket, and preferably details of where you will be staying during your stay – I was asked for both of these when entering on a VWP for a job interview.
Also, if you are interviewing with a large, well known company be sure to say so – immigration staff know that companies like Microsoft, Google, etc, will not hire someone without checking their legal status in the country, which will help in convincing the immigration staff that you are not intending to work on this visit.
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘
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