Get a Tech Job in San Francisco as an International Candidate
Breaking into San Francisco’s tech scene as an international candidate isn’t about credentials, or recruiter pipelines — it’s about proving undeniable value. You need visible evidence that you can solve problems companies actually face.
Forget Credentials — Build Proof
Degrees are outdated currency. They’re only useful for connections, not capability. Companies in San Francisco that actually ship don’t care where you studied — they care whether you can execute fast and well. There's negligible value in your UBA or UTN title and if you studied on MIT, Stanford, etc. you alrady have the connections you need.
The only thing that matters is public, verifiable work that shows you can deliver under real value.
Create Irreefutable Demonstrations of Value
Your entire focus should be building irrefutable proof — clear, inspectable examples of your ability to solve company-specific problems.
Open source makes this possible at a global scale. Pick repositories related to the type of company you want to work at. Fix issues, improve features, write docs, optimize performance. Those contributions become your reference letters, written in code.
For example, if you want to work at place like, say Vercel, just look at their repositories and contribute value immediately and consistenly (this is very important): https://vercel.com/oss
If a company’s engineers already recognize your name from commits or pull requests, you’re not a cold applicant anymore — you’re a known valuable contributor. Your work does the selling already.
Skip Recruiters — Connect with Founders and Builders Directly
Recruiters won’t help you. They move paperwork after decisions are already made. They have literally no leverage agains the company hiring. Instead, connect directly with the people who build — founders, CTOs, senior engineers. They’re active on GitHub and X. Comment on their work, contribute to their repos, and engage intelligently.
That’s how you get noticed in San Francisco: by showing up where builders hang out and adding value before you even ask for anything.
Use Remote Work as Your Entry Point
If you think a company will sponsor an H-1B just from a résumé, you’re out of your mind. Sponsorship means legal fees, compliance headaches, and risk. Founders already deal with complexity all day — they won’t add more for a stranger.
The realistic route: get hired remotely first. Work for a San Francisco startup as a contractor. Deliver results, build trust, and discuss relocation. Once they know your value, they’ll consider an L-1 visa, which is smoother and faster than an H-1B.
Prove yourself before you ask for sponsorship. That’s the difference between getting ignored and getting invited.
Sell Yourself Through Results
Your only real job is to sell yourself with evidence.
Ship features. Fix production issues. Build something they can use. Be proactive about this. Make it impossible for them not to take you seriously.
Ignore salary optimization at the start. Focus entirely on closing the opportunity. Once you’re inside and delivering, leverage naturally follows.
- Build public proof of solving real company problems.
- Contribute to open-source projects used by San Francisco companies.
- Connect directly with founders and engineers — skip recruiters.
- Engage on GitHub and X to show your work publicly.
- Secure remote work first, then transition to a visa.
- Focus on demonstrable results before negotiating anything.
Your number one job is to sell yourself through concrete work — visible, verifiable. Make yourself impossible to ignore.