Ask HN: How to get a job without even getting an interview?

Get your foot in the door. It is extremely hard at the start. But it can happen. Take a challenge and don't be a reckless self-promoted, but let others know your achievements. That should put wind in your sails now you're on the sea.

Don't have a fixed target. Another poster mentioned Singapore, which is an excellent launching-ground for a lot of people from multiple nationalities. Include Australia, even KL, Asia is full of English speaking places.

That being said, companies might get a lot of applications from abroad. When I advertised a programming job in Austria on Stack Overflow, I got more applications from Egypt, India, etc than from local candidates. So you need to be good. You need to be better than all the other good people from abroad that apply for the job. Getting a Visa isn't difficult, but it still takes a few weeks or months, so companies only do it for really good candidates.

You say you have the ability to impress people -- how do you know that? Most junior developers I've met overestimate their own abilities, and don't understand when companies looking for senior candidates don't hire them.

Also: make sure that your applications are relevant and on point. Some people copy paste application letters and send almost identical applications to dozens of companies. When I get a low effort application like that, I just throw it out. If the candidate can't bother to explain in a few sentences why their experience is a fit for this position, they aren't worth my time.

Make sure to focus on relevant experience. If I'm looking for someone to build an online shop, I probably don't care about your robotics project in undergrad.

Finally, consider looking for smaller companies. Big, popular companies in major cities receive a lot of applications. Small companies in smaller cities don't get any applications at all and pay recruiters 15000€ per hire because noone replies to their ads.

Aside from a CV, I like to pay attention to a persons github account if they list one. Seeing their style of code, testing, naming, and documentation says a lot about them as a programmer

There's another important pain point in the US H1 visa system. New visa applications start in April, but people who get the visa cannot start working till October.

Companies are very risk averse when it comes to sponsoring new works visas due to this. The end result is that typically companies only sponsor new work visas for people that are already working for them(e.g. short term work authorization after getting a US degree, people working at a different branch outside the US, etc).

A lot of people work for large companies outside the US and then transfer to the US. This is not just large software companies, but also Banks, Consumer Goods (e.g. Pepsi, Proctor and Gamble), Industrial Companies (e.g. Siemens, Maersk), Energy Companies, etc.

Not to discourage you, but don't focus a lot of energy trying to get a US work visa unless you have some way of coming to the US and working on a different temporary work authorization. Find a country that where it's easy to get a work visa and build your experience there. Find a large company that is willing to hire you will sponsor a transfer to a country you want to be.

For example, the United Arab Emirates makes it easy to sponsor people for employment visas and there area lot of MNCs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Lots of people work in UAE for a few years before migrating to another country. UAE isn't the best place for people who are passionate about software, but you can get a decent job there.