Seven Paths From Japanese Salaryman To Silicon Valley

My network of Japanese contacts here keeps expanding in various ways.

Based on what I’ve observed through that network, let me organize the various “ways of crossing over to Silicon Valley.”

Of course the simplest and most common story is coming to America for a few years through training or an overseas posting.

I won’t cover that case here. Instead I want to think about crossing over with something more permanent in view, further down the road.

I hope this is useful for anyone, young or old, male or female, who thinks “I want to compete in Silicon Valley!” or “I’d love to live in California’s laid-back climate♪”

Naturally, this doesn’t cover green card holders and the like.

The focus here is strictly on the method of “how to get from being an ordinary salaryman in Japan to Silicon Valley.”

I keep saying “Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley” simply because that’s where I am.

Most of what I cover here probably applies to many other countries and regions as well.

<1. My own case: getting recruited by a company executive I know> First, the case I experienced myself.

This one is simple: get hired by someone running a company in Silicon Valley.

There are several visa options depending on your position and circumstances, so you just apply for whichever one suits you.

○Advantages ・In most cases things proceed smoothly

○Disadvantages ・If you get fired from that company, going straight back to Japan is the normal outcome (though there seem to be various loopholes) ・To begin with, you have to become acquainted with the person who will hire you while you’re still in Japan

<2. A case among executives I know: start a company and issue yourself a visa> The next simplest case is starting your own company in America.

But this obviously requires upfront capital, and the visa itself comes with various conditions, such as

“Japanese capital must account for a certain percentage or more of the ownership ratio.”

In other words, if you take on additional investment from American angels or VCs, you risk invalidating your visa.

A simple way to avoid this is to “run on your own funds at first,” which is not exactly a simple thing to do.

○Advantages ・Achievable right away based purely on your own will and judgment ・The risk of starting a company

○Disadvantages ・You need money in various senses ・The risk of starting a company

*I wrote “risk” for both categories, following a friend’s words: “risk means the range of swing, both plus and minus.”

<3. A common case among the older gentlemen I’ve met here: coming on assignment and then quitting> A case that’s actually extremely common among the Japanese people I’ve met here is

“coming to America on a work assignment, and then quitting the company when the recall order came.”

People like this go on being “salarymen” over here too, so they don’t show up in flashy, visible ways, but there are actually a huge number of them.

The hardest part of this case is that normally, once you quit the company that posted you, you lose your right to stay in America at that point.

In other words, you need to properly line up what’s next, whether that’s a visa transfer or a green card application.

Also, even in cases where someone “wants to quit,” sometimes the company talks them out of it and arranges a “transfer” within the same corporate group instead.

Unless it’s a kind company that values its people, this kind of selfish request usually doesn’t get granted, but it’s worth trying.

○Advantages ・If it’s permanent residency built on top of an assignment, there’s no change in lifestyle (taking care of family, etc.)

○Disadvantages ・You have to build up your network and secure a landing spot solidly during the “assignment” period ・You have to be working for a company with a base in Silicon Valley to begin with ・You have to get assigned overseas in the first place (not something you can normally aim for and achieve) ・All you can do is hope quitting doesn’t turn into trouble

Hmm. This is a case you see fairly often, but laying out the conditions like this, it might actually be quite difficult.

<4. A case among several of my friends: working at a foreign company and transferring rather than being posted> About as common as case 3 is “working at a foreign-owned company and transferring to headquarters.”

This requires alignment between your interests and the company’s, so the bar is a bit higher, but some companies actively encourage such transfers, and depending on the case things can go smoothly.

○Advantages ・In many cases the job barely changes once you move to America, which reassures the people around you (especially family) ・Since moving to America equals the transfer from the start, the impact on those around you at work is small

○Disadvantages ・First you have to join a foreign company that allows transfers to headquarters ・You have to be talented enough within your department for a “transfer” to be approved ・You have to give up on enjoying the “perks” of an overseas assignment ・Even after moving, you’re treated as a “local,” so your position isn’t especially cushy

Okay, from here on it gets a bit more like brute force. But enough people have actually done it that these are naturally options too.

<5. If you try hard, can dreams come true?: coming on a student visa and getting hired by someone> One of the loosest visas to obtain is the student visa.

American universities in particular are lenient about admissions, so visa acquisition naturally becomes lenient too.

○Advantages ・As long as you can pay tuition, entering the country is easy ・As long as tuition payments continue, the grace period is long

○Disadvantages ・Internships are extremely common in America, but you can’t work on a student visa. Under those conditions, you have to somehow manage to get someone to hire you (maybe getting involved in an industry-academia joint project could create connections…) ・That company has to be one willing to sponsor a visa (normally companies find this a hassle)

<6. Relying on luck: winning the lottery and moving> I once ran into a lucky guy who said,

“Oh, I won the lottery, so I quit my job. I figured I’d move over there first and look for work after.”

Well, people like that do exist.

○Advantages ・Whoever wins, wins

○Disadvantages ・It’s pure luck, full stop ・You have to find your own job

<7. The ultimate brute-force option: marry a green card or citizenship holder planning to return to America> A rare case among the wives I’ve met here.

She met her husband while he was on assignment in Japan, got married, and came over together when he returned.

○Advantages ・If the marriage lasts long enough, moving to America goes smoothly

○Disadvantages ・That’s not something you aim for on purpose, is it, is it ・Do people like that even exist around you in the first place?

Originally published in Japanese at https://clazytech.com/2014/02/101/. Translated with LLM assistance and reviewed before publication.