Policy Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Policy roles in the U.S. can qualify for H-1B visa sponsorship, particularly at think tanks, government contractors, universities, and large nonprofits. You'll generally need a master's degree or higher in public policy, political science, economics, or a related field to meet specialty occupation requirements. The challenge is that many policy organizations are smaller and less experienced with visa sponsorship, so you may need to educate your employer on the process. Roles with a quantitative or technical research component tend to have stronger H-1B cases. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
Find Policy JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 579+ Policy jobs


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?
See all 579+ Policy Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Policy roles.
Get Access To All Jobs
Job Overview
PenFed is hiring a (Hybrid) Sr Manager, Consumer Lending Policy & Analytics at our Tysons, Virginia location. The primary purpose of this job is to own end-to-end development and implementation of credit policy in Consumer Lending products space and conduct credit risk monitoring and analytics. You will explore utilizing AI in your analysis and collaborate in building advanced valuation and risk detection models. You will manage analysts and managers to achieve team's strategic goals and contribute to setting up strategic goals and agenda for Consumer Lending Policy and Analytics team.
Responsibilities
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of job duties and the position will perform other duties as assigned.
- Develop and manage automated and judgmental decisions within credit policies for new account acquisition and/or accounts on book, including approve/decline, line assignment and/or portfolio risk management.
- Define risk segmentation, loss expectations and risk premium to support Risk Adjusted Pricing.
- Collaborate with modeling teams to build and validate risk and/or NPV valuation models using both internal and external data sources, implement models in policy optimization, and/or monitor model performance on an ongoing basis.
- Drive monitoring and analysis of credit risk for both organic and acquired portfolios, prepare related management reporting package and provide insights on root causes, emerging credit trends and implications on Allowance for Loan Losses.
- Perform program-level deep dive and change monitoring to drive credit policy optimization and risk mitigation strategies, inform corporate strategic decisions, and improve efficiency.
- Provide ongoing or ad-hoc risk analytics to support credit or new product expansion.
- Develop statistical sampling and scoring methods to support judgment decision review program.
- Collaborate with business line product managers in optimizing marketing campaigns used in account acquisition and/or customer management that align with the credit policies and scoring models.
- Partner with key stakeholders in various groups (Credit Risk Modeling, Business Lines, Credit Risk Management, Compliance, Operations, Finance and Enterprise Risk Management) to identify areas of opportunity and spearhead initiatives to enable profitable growth while minimizing credit risk exposure and adapting to changing economic and regulatory environment.
- Manage analysts to achieve team's strategic goals, training and assisting development of skills and cultivating credit culture.
- Maintain strong working knowledge of consumer lending related regulations to ensure compliance. Remain abreast of financial regulatory developments in credit risk management and best practices within the industry.
- Participate in external and internal audits, and regulatory examinations as needed.
- Identify required data and work with data stewards to understand data source, ensure data quality and retrieve data on a timely basis. Contribute to credit data mart and corporate database designs.
- Provide thoughtful leadership and foster collaboration towards the attainment of corporate goals.
- Explore creative ways to incorporate AI into credit analysis and BAU process optimization.
Qualifications
Equivalent combination of education and experience is considered.
- Master's degree in business, finance, economics, computer science, engineering, math, statistics, or other quantitative discipline required.
- Minimum of ten (10) years' experience in quantitative analysis/modeling, credit policy or credit risk management in the financial services industry.
- Minimum of two (2) years of direct management experience.
- Experience in Consumer Lending products including Credit Card, Auto Loan and Unsecured Personal Loan is required.
- Proven project management skills, ability to manage multiple projects.
- Expert level skills in various data analysis and visualization tools including SQL, Excel, and PowerPoint are required.
- Proficiency with statistical tools R & Python and Tableau experience strongly preferred.
- Excellent written, verbal communication and presentation skills.
- Curiosity, attention to details, strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work effectively in ambiguous situations, ability to prioritize among multiple projects.
- Self-motivated and strong interpersonal skills to actively lead and implement ideas in a cross-functional team environment.
- Experience with AI preferred.
Supervisory Responsibility
This position will supervise employees.
Licenses and Certifications
There are no additional licenses and/or certifications required.
Work Environment
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to an indoor office setting with moderate noise.
Most roles require working in an office setting with moderate noise and the ability to lift 25 pounds.
Travel
Ability to travel to various worksites and be on-call is required.
LI-Hybrid
Benefits
At PenFed, we offer a robust benefits package designed to support you both personally and professionally. You'll have access to comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans; paid time off; and family-friendly benefits like paid parental leave, care support, and fitness center access. Financial wellness is encouraged through features like a 401(k) match, employee loan discounts, and fully paid life and disability coverage. We also support growth via education assistance, community involvement, and volunteer opportunities.
Our Purpose
Helping members achieve their dreams since 1935.
Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is one of America's largest federal credit unions, serving 2.8 million members worldwide with $29 billion in assets. PenFed offers market-leading certificates, checking and savings, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, and a wide range of other financial services, always with members' interests in mind. PenFed is federally insured by the NCUA and is an Equal Housing Lender.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty, LLC is a full-service real estate company ready to assist our clients with buying, selling and renting a home. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of PenFed Credit Union and is the largest independently-owned brokerage in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network, placing us in the top 1% of all real estate brokerages in the country.
With almost 60 offices and nearly 2,000 world-class sales professionals, we offer complete service coverage in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Kansas and Texas. In addition, we also offer specialized client services which include management of vacation properties and long-term rentals, corporate relocation services and national referral network.
Equal Employment Opportunity
PenFed management will maintain and observe personnel policies which will not discriminate or permit harassment or retaliation against a person because of race, color, creed, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, military or veteran status or obligation, the presence of a physical and/or mental disability or medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, and all statuses protected by applicable state or local law in all recruiting, hiring, training, compensation, overtime, position classifications, work assignments, facilities, promotions, transfers, employee treatment, and in all other terms and conditions of employment. PenFed will also prohibit retaliation against individuals for raising a complaint of discrimination or harassment or participating in an investigation of same.
PenFed will also reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can apply for a job or perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to PenFed. Contact human resources (HR) with any questions or requests for accommodation at 402-639-8568.
See all 579+ Policy Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Policy roles.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Policy Jobs
Target RAND, Brookings, and other established think tanks
Major think tanks like RAND Corporation, Brookings Institution, the Urban Institute, Council on Foreign Relations, and the Migration Policy Institute hire policy researchers and analysts with advanced degrees. These organizations have experience with visa sponsorship and employ international scholars regularly. RAND operates as an FFRDC and may offer cap-exempt H-1B processing for qualifying positions.
Leverage the J-1 research scholar visa for policy research
The J-1 research scholar category allows up to five years of research activity at qualifying U.S. institutions, making it well-suited for long-term policy research roles. Universities, think tanks, and nonprofit research organizations can serve as hosts. This path avoids the H-1B lottery entirely, though it does not directly lead to permanent residency and may carry a two-year home residency requirement.
Build a publication and media presence in your policy area
Policy professionals are judged by their intellectual output - published papers, policy briefs, op-eds, and media commentary. A strong publication record and media presence strengthen O-1 visa eligibility for extraordinary ability and make you a more attractive hire for think tanks. Publish in recognized policy journals, contribute to reputable outlets, and present at conferences to build your public profile.
Focus on quantitative policy skills for stronger sponsorship arguments
Policy roles that require econometrics, statistical analysis, data science, or computational modeling have clearer H-1B specialty occupation arguments than purely qualitative positions. If your degree program included significant quantitative coursework, this may also qualify your degree for STEM OPT designation. Skills in Stata, R, Python, or GIS make you competitive for data-driven policy positions at think tanks and consultancies.
Consider international organizations headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank, and various UN agencies based in Washington have their own visa categories (G-4 visas) that are separate from the H-1B system. These organizations employ thousands of policy professionals and hire internationally by default. While their hiring processes are competitive, they bypass the standard U.S. work visa system entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do think tanks and policy organizations sponsor work visas?
Some major think tanks and policy organizations sponsor H-1B visas for research and analyst positions, though the landscape is more limited than the private sector. Organizations like the Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, Council on Foreign Relations, and the Urban Institute have sponsored researchers. Nonprofit organizations affiliated with or operating as part of universities may also offer cap-exempt H-1B processing.
What visa options work for policy research roles?
H-1B is the most common path for policy analyst and researcher positions that require at least a bachelor's degree. J-1 visa research scholar visas can provide up to five years of authorized stay for individuals conducting research at designated organizations. O-1 visas may be available for policy experts with extraordinary ability demonstrated through publications, media citations, and significant policy influence.
Are government policy positions open to non-U.S. citizens?
Most federal government positions require U.S. citizenship, which eliminates direct federal employment for visa holders. However, government contractors, federally funded research centers (FFRDCs), and organizations like the World Bank and IMF hire international professionals. State and local government policy roles may have more flexibility, though many also have citizenship or permanent residency requirements.
What qualifications strengthen a policy professional's visa case?
An advanced degree (master's or Ph.D.) in public policy, political science, economics, international relations, or a related field is strongly preferred and strengthens the H-1B specialty occupation argument. Published research, policy briefs, or media citations demonstrate expertise. Quantitative skills like econometrics and data analysis are increasingly valued and may qualify your degree for STEM OPT.
How to find Policy jobs with visa sponsorship?
To find Policy jobs with visa sponsorship, use Migrate Mate, which specializes in connecting international candidates with sponsoring employers. Focus on government agencies, think tanks, consulting firms, and large corporations that frequently sponsor H-1B, O-1, and other work visas for policy analysts, researchers, and advisors. These organizations often have dedicated immigration support for specialized policy roles.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Policy 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 policy in Texas 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.