City Attorney Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
City Attorney positions rarely offer visa sponsorship as they typically require U.S. citizenship or permanent residence due to security clearances and oath requirements. Most municipalities restrict these roles to citizens only, making H-1B visa and other work visas unavailable for this career path. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
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Get Access To All JobsCompany Description
9/24/26 - Amended job announcement reflect updated closing date. Permanent Exempt (PEX): Full Time position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the appointment officer.
Specific information regarding this recruitment process are listed below:
Application Opening: Friday, September 4, 2026
Application Deadline: Monday, October 12, 2026 at 11:59pm PST
* ✅ Required Supplemental Questionnaire due at the time of application: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/ntgLuzPQ8R
About the Office of the City Administrator:
The Office of the City Administrator and its 20+ divisions and departments operate core internal and public-facing services in San Francisco.
The Office of the City Administrator’s Mission and Vision
Our vision is to lead the nation in public administration and to enable City departments to effectively deliver critical public services. We aim to help the city run better, to connect San Francisco residents and constituents to the vital public services they seek, and to create a meaningful and diverse work culture that is the place of choice for people who are invested in a career in public service. We are committed to ensuring that City services are inclusive, efficient, equitable, and culturally competent for San Franciscans of all races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and sexual orientations. This commitment requires comprehensive review and thorough analysis of existing practices and policies to remove barriers to real inclusion. We are also committed to ensuring that we have a safe, equitable, and inclusive workplace for individuals of all races. This includes creating opportunities for hiring, promotion, training, and development, for all employees, including but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). To learn more about our departments, divisions, and programs, visit: https://sf.gov/departments/city-administrator
About The Real Estate Division
The Office of the City Administrator, Real Estate Division (RED) is a team of more than 300 staff delivering professional real estate services to a variety of City departments. RED supports San Francisco’s public mission by delivering two essential services:
Real Estate Transactions and Property Records:
RED manages acquisitions, conveyance, and leasing of real property on behalf of City departments, as well as conducting and documenting these transactions efficiently, transparently, and in alignment with City policies, operational needs, and reporting requirements.
Property and Facility Management:
RED provides services to over 6 million square feet of City-owned property, including civic facilities such as City Hall, 49 South Van Ness, the Hall of Justice, Alemany Farmers Market, Police Headquarters, and other key public assets. Our property management, building engineering, contracts, security and custodial teams provide operational support to keep City services running safely and effectively.
Job Description
RED is seeking an experienced property management professional to serve as the San Francisco City Hall Building Manager and lead the full-service management and operation of City Hall, an iconic historic landmark and center of City government. The position is responsible for ensuring that City Hall is safe, well maintained, responsive to tenant and public needs, and operated to a high standard. This role requires strong political awareness, advanced communication skills, exceptional customer service, and proven project, budget and people management capabilities to address complex operational needs in a high-profile public environment. The City Hall Building Manager oversees multidisciplinary building operations and staff, manages tenant relations, and ensures maintenance, repairs, and capital projects are identified, prioritized, and timely completed to meet the operational needs of a historic, high-traffic civic complex. The Building Manager also plays a key role in coordinating safety, security, and emergency preparedness. The role regularly engages with elected officials, department heads, and executive-level stakeholders, and works closely with City Administrator’s Office, and partners in San Francisco Public Works, the Sheriff’s Department, contractors, and others to ensure safe, efficient, and seamless facility operations.
Examples of Important and Essential Duties:
Building Operations & Strategic Facilities Management
- Oversee day-to-day operations, maintenance, repairs, capital improvements, policies, and other facility functions; supervise staff and establish priorities and service expectations.
- Serve as primary liaison between RED, tenant departments, elected officials, and executive leadership, providing regular building condition updates and operational communications.
- Regularly assess building conditions and operational performance, work orders, and coordinate ADA, safety, and policy compliance across City Hall spaces.
- Coordinate with RED facilities maintenance staff, San Francisco Public Works, and other partners to prioritize, track, and ensure timely completion of maintenance and repair projects.
- Work with RED management to develop long range planning, budgets, and capital improvement funding needs.
Customer Service, Stakeholder Management & Communication
- Act as the main operational contact for elected officials, department heads, commissioners, and tenant departments; build effective tenant relationships and provide prompt, diplomatic customer service.
- Communicate operational impacts, policy requirements, and building constraints with clarity and tact; provide guidance, conflict resolution, and interpretation of building policies.
- Lead tenant onboarding and departmental moves; manage communication of tenant manuals, policies, and safety materials.
Safety, Security & Emergency Preparedness
- Serve as a key operational partner to the Sheriff’s Department on City Hall security matters and coordinate with RED’s Security & Access Control Manager on access systems and security infrastructure needs.
- Lead City Hall emergency preparedness efforts, including drills, evacuation coordination, training, and compliance documentation.
- Oversee key and access management and maintain a safe, secure, and well-maintained environment for staff, tenants, and visitors.
Operational Problem Solving & Interdepartmental Coordination
- Diagnose and resolve complex building, safety, preservation, and access issues, often involving political sensitivities or high-profile stakeholders.
- Represent City Hall operations in cross-departmental planning, emergency coordination, and policy discussions.
- Partner closely with San Francisco Public Works, Sheriff’s Department, Arts Commission, Clerk of the Board, and other agencies to support coordinated operations.
Vendor, Contract, Sustainability & Performance Management
- Manage vendor and contractor performance to ensure quality, safety, preservation standards, and timely delivery of services (i.e., pest control, landscaping, window washing, greening).
- Support sustainability strategies and building performance initiatives, working with engineers and the Civic Center Campus Manager to pursue ENERGY STAR or equivalent ratings and implement tenant-based greening programs.
Qualifications
Education:
Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
Experience:
Three (3) years of professional experience in property management (experience solely in residential property management is not considered qualifying); OR Three (3) years of professional experience directly developing and administering facility use policies and coordinating operations for a multi-use public or high-profile commercial property.
Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis. One (1) year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units / forty-five (45) quarter units.
Note(s):
One-year full-time employment is considered equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.
Applicants must meet minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.
* Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications.
Desirable Qualifications:
The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring:
- Experience managing operations and supervising staff for a large high-profile, historic, or architecturally significant public or private building, ideally one with significant public use and foot traffic, such as a hotel, courthouse, airport terminal, performing arts center, university campus building, or civic center.
- Experience supervising and developing staff, establishing priorities and service expectations in a customer-focused environment, and effective partnership with multidisciplinary operational teams including engineering, custodial, trades, security, media services, and administrative staff.
- Proven ability to serve as the primary liaison to senior executives, elected officials, commissioners, and other politically sensitive stakeholders, handling escalations and high-priority needs with diplomacy.
- Strong experience preparing operational communications, policy documents, briefings, reports, and messaging for diverse audiences.
- Experience delivering concierge-level service in complex public or corporate environments, managing competing demands while maintaining professionalism and service quality.
- Familiarity with architects, historic preservation teams, and capital project staff, including development of long-term maintenance, preservation, sustainability, and space-planning strategies.
- Experience creating multi-year maintenance plans, preservation strategies, risk mitigation plans, or space optimization strategies for a major public facility.
- Skilled in emergency preparedness, security collaboration with law enforcement or related teams, and planning drills, evacuations, and continuity measures.
Additional Information
Selection Procedures
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited for an interview. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.
Verification
Please make sure it is clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications.
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point in the application and/or departmental selection process.
Supplemental Questionnaire
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes completion of a supplemental questionnaire at the time of application. Please see this link to submit the supplemental questionnaire: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/ntgLuzPQ8R
Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:
Information About The Hiring Process
Conviction History
Employee Benefits Overview
Equal Employment Opportunity
Disaster Service Worker
ADA Accommodation
Veterans Preference
Right to Work
Copies of Application Documents
Diversity Statement
Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received. Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).
HR Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the HR analyst at Connie.Poon@sfgov.org.
The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.
Company Description
9/24/26 - Amended job announcement reflect updated closing date. Permanent Exempt (PEX): Full Time position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the appointment officer.
Specific information regarding this recruitment process are listed below:
Application Opening: Friday, September 4, 2026
Application Deadline: Monday, October 12, 2026 at 11:59pm PST
* ✅ Required Supplemental Questionnaire due at the time of application: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/ntgLuzPQ8R
About the Office of the City Administrator:
The Office of the City Administrator and its 20+ divisions and departments operate core internal and public-facing services in San Francisco.
The Office of the City Administrator’s Mission and Vision
Our vision is to lead the nation in public administration and to enable City departments to effectively deliver critical public services. We aim to help the city run better, to connect San Francisco residents and constituents to the vital public services they seek, and to create a meaningful and diverse work culture that is the place of choice for people who are invested in a career in public service. We are committed to ensuring that City services are inclusive, efficient, equitable, and culturally competent for San Franciscans of all races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and sexual orientations. This commitment requires comprehensive review and thorough analysis of existing practices and policies to remove barriers to real inclusion. We are also committed to ensuring that we have a safe, equitable, and inclusive workplace for individuals of all races. This includes creating opportunities for hiring, promotion, training, and development, for all employees, including but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). To learn more about our departments, divisions, and programs, visit: https://sf.gov/departments/city-administrator
About The Real Estate Division
The Office of the City Administrator, Real Estate Division (RED) is a team of more than 300 staff delivering professional real estate services to a variety of City departments. RED supports San Francisco’s public mission by delivering two essential services:
Real Estate Transactions and Property Records:
RED manages acquisitions, conveyance, and leasing of real property on behalf of City departments, as well as conducting and documenting these transactions efficiently, transparently, and in alignment with City policies, operational needs, and reporting requirements.
Property and Facility Management:
RED provides services to over 6 million square feet of City-owned property, including civic facilities such as City Hall, 49 South Van Ness, the Hall of Justice, Alemany Farmers Market, Police Headquarters, and other key public assets. Our property management, building engineering, contracts, security and custodial teams provide operational support to keep City services running safely and effectively.
Job Description
RED is seeking an experienced property management professional to serve as the San Francisco City Hall Building Manager and lead the full-service management and operation of City Hall, an iconic historic landmark and center of City government. The position is responsible for ensuring that City Hall is safe, well maintained, responsive to tenant and public needs, and operated to a high standard. This role requires strong political awareness, advanced communication skills, exceptional customer service, and proven project, budget and people management capabilities to address complex operational needs in a high-profile public environment. The City Hall Building Manager oversees multidisciplinary building operations and staff, manages tenant relations, and ensures maintenance, repairs, and capital projects are identified, prioritized, and timely completed to meet the operational needs of a historic, high-traffic civic complex. The Building Manager also plays a key role in coordinating safety, security, and emergency preparedness. The role regularly engages with elected officials, department heads, and executive-level stakeholders, and works closely with City Administrator’s Office, and partners in San Francisco Public Works, the Sheriff’s Department, contractors, and others to ensure safe, efficient, and seamless facility operations.
Examples of Important and Essential Duties:
Building Operations & Strategic Facilities Management
- Oversee day-to-day operations, maintenance, repairs, capital improvements, policies, and other facility functions; supervise staff and establish priorities and service expectations.
- Serve as primary liaison between RED, tenant departments, elected officials, and executive leadership, providing regular building condition updates and operational communications.
- Regularly assess building conditions and operational performance, work orders, and coordinate ADA, safety, and policy compliance across City Hall spaces.
- Coordinate with RED facilities maintenance staff, San Francisco Public Works, and other partners to prioritize, track, and ensure timely completion of maintenance and repair projects.
- Work with RED management to develop long range planning, budgets, and capital improvement funding needs.
Customer Service, Stakeholder Management & Communication
- Act as the main operational contact for elected officials, department heads, commissioners, and tenant departments; build effective tenant relationships and provide prompt, diplomatic customer service.
- Communicate operational impacts, policy requirements, and building constraints with clarity and tact; provide guidance, conflict resolution, and interpretation of building policies.
- Lead tenant onboarding and departmental moves; manage communication of tenant manuals, policies, and safety materials.
Safety, Security & Emergency Preparedness
- Serve as a key operational partner to the Sheriff’s Department on City Hall security matters and coordinate with RED’s Security & Access Control Manager on access systems and security infrastructure needs.
- Lead City Hall emergency preparedness efforts, including drills, evacuation coordination, training, and compliance documentation.
- Oversee key and access management and maintain a safe, secure, and well-maintained environment for staff, tenants, and visitors.
Operational Problem Solving & Interdepartmental Coordination
- Diagnose and resolve complex building, safety, preservation, and access issues, often involving political sensitivities or high-profile stakeholders.
- Represent City Hall operations in cross-departmental planning, emergency coordination, and policy discussions.
- Partner closely with San Francisco Public Works, Sheriff’s Department, Arts Commission, Clerk of the Board, and other agencies to support coordinated operations.
Vendor, Contract, Sustainability & Performance Management
- Manage vendor and contractor performance to ensure quality, safety, preservation standards, and timely delivery of services (i.e., pest control, landscaping, window washing, greening).
- Support sustainability strategies and building performance initiatives, working with engineers and the Civic Center Campus Manager to pursue ENERGY STAR or equivalent ratings and implement tenant-based greening programs.
Qualifications
Education:
Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
Experience:
Three (3) years of professional experience in property management (experience solely in residential property management is not considered qualifying); OR Three (3) years of professional experience directly developing and administering facility use policies and coordinating operations for a multi-use public or high-profile commercial property.
Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis. One (1) year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units / forty-five (45) quarter units.
Note(s):
One-year full-time employment is considered equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.
Applicants must meet minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.
* Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications.
Desirable Qualifications:
The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring:
- Experience managing operations and supervising staff for a large high-profile, historic, or architecturally significant public or private building, ideally one with significant public use and foot traffic, such as a hotel, courthouse, airport terminal, performing arts center, university campus building, or civic center.
- Experience supervising and developing staff, establishing priorities and service expectations in a customer-focused environment, and effective partnership with multidisciplinary operational teams including engineering, custodial, trades, security, media services, and administrative staff.
- Proven ability to serve as the primary liaison to senior executives, elected officials, commissioners, and other politically sensitive stakeholders, handling escalations and high-priority needs with diplomacy.
- Strong experience preparing operational communications, policy documents, briefings, reports, and messaging for diverse audiences.
- Experience delivering concierge-level service in complex public or corporate environments, managing competing demands while maintaining professionalism and service quality.
- Familiarity with architects, historic preservation teams, and capital project staff, including development of long-term maintenance, preservation, sustainability, and space-planning strategies.
- Experience creating multi-year maintenance plans, preservation strategies, risk mitigation plans, or space optimization strategies for a major public facility.
- Skilled in emergency preparedness, security collaboration with law enforcement or related teams, and planning drills, evacuations, and continuity measures.
Additional Information
Selection Procedures
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited for an interview. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.
Verification
Please make sure it is clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications.
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point in the application and/or departmental selection process.
Supplemental Questionnaire
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes completion of a supplemental questionnaire at the time of application. Please see this link to submit the supplemental questionnaire: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/ntgLuzPQ8R
Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:
Information About The Hiring Process
Conviction History
Employee Benefits Overview
Equal Employment Opportunity
Disaster Service Worker
ADA Accommodation
Veterans Preference
Right to Work
Copies of Application Documents
Diversity Statement
Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received. Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).
HR Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the HR analyst at Connie.Poon@sfgov.org.
The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Visa Sponsorship as a City Attorney
Target federal attorney positions instead
Federal agencies like DOJ, EPA, or Treasury sponsor H-1B visas for attorney positions more readily than municipal governments with citizenship requirements.
Consider corporate counsel roles
Private companies frequently sponsor attorneys for H-1B, O-1, or L-1 visas, offering more viable paths than government positions with citizenship restrictions.
Research state-level opportunities
Some state attorney general offices or public defender programs may sponsor visas, though most still prefer citizens for government legal roles.
Build immigration law expertise
Specializing in immigration law can make you more attractive to firms that regularly sponsor visas and understand the process firsthand.
Network through bar associations
Join local and state bar associations to connect with attorneys who've navigated visa sponsorship and can provide referrals to sponsor-friendly employers.
Consider contract-to-hire positions
Some municipalities hire attorneys as contractors initially, which may lead to permanent positions once you obtain a green card through other means.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can international lawyers work as City Attorneys?
Most City Attorney positions require U.S. citizenship due to oath requirements and security clearances. International lawyers should focus on private practice, corporate counsel roles, or federal positions that may sponsor work visas instead of municipal government positions.
What degree requirements apply to City Attorney roles?
City Attorney positions require a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school and bar admission in the relevant state. Foreign law degrees typically need evaluation and additional U.S. legal education to meet these requirements.
Do any government legal positions sponsor H-1B visas?
Federal agencies occasionally sponsor H-1B visas for attorney positions, but municipal and state governments rarely do due to citizenship preferences. The Department of Justice, EPA, and Treasury are more likely sponsors than local government entities.
Can City Attorneys transfer to private practice for visa sponsorship?
Yes, attorneys can transition from government work to private practice where H-1B and O-1 visa sponsorship is more common. Large law firms and corporations frequently sponsor experienced attorneys, especially those with government legal experience.
What alternatives exist for foreign lawyers in government work?
Foreign lawyers can pursue roles as legal analysts, paralegals, or policy advisors in government while working toward permanent residence. These positions may not require citizenship and can provide government experience before transitioning to attorney roles.
How to find City Attorney jobs with visa sponsorship?
To find City Attorney positions with visa sponsorship, use Migrate Mate, which specializes in connecting international legal professionals with sponsoring employers. Focus your search on large municipal governments, metropolitan areas, and cities with significant immigrant populations, as they commonly sponsor H-1B and O-1 visas for experienced attorneys with government law expertise.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored City Attorney jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.