Economist Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Economist is a textbook specialty occupation, making H-1B visa sponsorship straightforward from a legal standpoint. Federal agencies, think tanks, consulting firms, universities, and financial institutions all sponsor economists regularly. J-1 visa research scholar visas are also common in academic settings. If you've got a master's or PhD, you're in even stronger position since many economist roles genuinely require advanced degrees. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
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DESCRIPTION
Amazon Advertising is one of Amazon's fastest growing and most profitable businesses. Our products are used daily to surface new selection and provide customers a wider set of product choices along their shopping journeys. The business is focused on generating value for shoppers as well as advertisers. Our team uses a combination of econometrics, machine learning, and data science to build disruptive products for all our Advertising products. We also generate insights to guide Amazon Advertising strategy, providing direct support to senior leadership.
We are looking for an experienced Economist with a deep passion for building econometric solutions and the ability to communicate data insights and scientific vision to execute on strategic projects.
Key job responsibilities
- Leverage econometrics and ML models to optimize advertising strategies on behalf of our customers.
- Influence key business and product decisions based on insights from models you develop.
- Perform hands-on analysis and modeling with enormous data sets to develop insights that increase traffic monetization and merchandise sales without compromising shopper experience.
- Work closely with software engineers on detailed requirements to productionize the models you build.
- Run A/B experiments that affect hundreds of millions of customers, evaluate the impact of your optimizations and communicate your results to various business stakeholders.
- Work with other scientists, software developers, and product partners to implement your solutions.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD in economics or equivalent
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- 2+ years of industry, consulting, government, or academic research experience
- Knowledge of at least one statistical software package such as R, Stata, Matlab, SAS
- Experience in prediction and forecasting in a research or industrial environment
- Experience with handling of large datasets
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
LOCATION
USA, CA, Culver City - 136,000.00 - 184,000.00 USD annually
USA, NY, New York - 157,300.00 - 212,800.00 USD annually
USA, WA, SEATTLE - 136,000.00 - 184,000.00 USD annually
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Visa Sponsorship as an Economist
Target Federal Reserve banks for economist positions
The twelve Federal Reserve regional banks (New York, Chicago, San Francisco, etc.) regularly hire international economists for research and policy roles. These are private institutions that sponsor H-1B visas, and they offer competitive compensation along with strong research environments.
Consider economic consulting firms that sponsor routinely
Firms like Analysis Group, Cornerstone Research, NERA Economic Consulting, and Charles River Associates specialize in litigation and regulatory economics. They hire economists at both the pre-doctoral and post-doctoral levels and have established visa sponsorship processes.
Leverage your Ph.D. for advanced degree H-1B exemption
Economists with a U.S. master's or doctoral degree qualify for the H-1B advanced degree exemption, which provides an additional selection opportunity in the lottery. Given that most economist positions favor advanced degrees, this exemption can meaningfully improve your odds.
Publish working papers to build your EB-1 or NIW case early
Working papers in NBER, SSRN, or Federal Reserve discussion series count as evidence of scholarly contribution. Start building a publication pipeline during graduate school, as a strong body of economic research can support an EB-1A extraordinary ability or EB-2 NIW petition.
Highlight econometric and causal inference skills in applications
Employers sponsoring economists value specific methodological expertise in causal inference, structural estimation, or machine learning applications to economic data. Demonstrating proficiency in tools like Stata, MATLAB, or Python for economic modeling strengthens both your job candidacy and the specialty occupation argument.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do employers sponsor H-1B visas for economists?
Yes, economists are frequently sponsored for H-1B visas in the U.S. Federal agencies, economic consulting firms, financial institutions, and universities are the most common sponsors. The SOC code 19-3011 (Economists) is well-established as a specialty occupation requiring at least a bachelor's degree in economics.
Can economists qualify for EB-2 National Interest Waiver green cards?
Economists whose research has demonstrated influence on public policy, trade, or economic development may qualify for an EB-2 NIW. This pathway allows self-petitioning without employer sponsorship. Evidence like published economic analyses, policy citations, government advisory roles, and a Ph.D. in economics can strengthen the case.
How to find Economist jobs with visa sponsorship?
Use Migrate Mate to find Economist positions with visa sponsorship opportunities. Focus on roles at government agencies, research institutions, financial services firms, and multinational corporations that commonly sponsor H-1B, O-1 visa, or EB-2 visas for economists. Target positions in economic research, policy analysis, financial modeling, and consulting where specialized economic expertise is valued and visa sponsorship is more readily available.
Which government agencies hire international economists?
The Federal Reserve System, Bureau of Labor Statistics, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Congressional Budget Office all hire economists and have sponsored visas. The IMF and World Bank use G-4 visas for international organization employees, which is a separate pathway from H-1B. Federal Reserve regional banks are private institutions that sponsor H-1B petitions.
Is a Ph.D. required for economist visa sponsorship?
A Ph.D. is not strictly required, but it significantly strengthens your candidacy. Most economist positions at research institutions, federal agencies, and top consulting firms prefer or require doctoral training. A master's degree in economics with strong quantitative skills can qualify for H-1B sponsorship at some employers, particularly in the private sector.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Economist jobs?
When a U.S. employer sponsors a foreign worker for a work visa, they are legally required to pay at least the "prevailing wage" — the average wage paid to workers in the same occupation, in the same geographic area, with similar experience. This is set by the Department of Labor to prevent employers from hiring foreign workers at below-market rates. The prevailing wage varies significantly by role, location, and experience level — for example, a economist in New York will have a different prevailing wage than the same role in a smaller state. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search.