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I was hired for an international internship last month by a company. It was a visa sponsoring job. It took me quite a long to find the internship so I was already very late to join. I was originally intending to join between 1 March-1 April while searching for the internship.

After I got the job offer, HR initially actively helped me completing the process. But since around 20 days, they are not making any progress. I've contacted HR 2-3 times earlier, but they are making excuse of being very busy.

Note: I don't have a written job contract yet. They are delaying it too.

I've three concerns now:

  • Company withdraw the offer: What if they decided that they don't want to hire me anymore after wasting a lot of my time.

  • Time: I don't think I'll be able to complete the internship for the whole duration if I join very late. Also I am already very late to join and should've joined much earlier ideally.

  • Visa refusal: There is no guarantee, I will get the visa. If I got refused visa, all my efforts will be useless and I'll end up wasting a lot of time. It is my biggest concern.

Now, How can I make them complete the process faster. Is giving an ultimatum a good option? Should I start looking for other opportunities too?

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    I would just say, you don't have the job until you have a written signed contract which mentions the start date. Until you have that, be wary about plans like moving.
    – Brandin
    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:03
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    The process of making an offer that requires visa sponsorship can take a long time. A delay of 20 days doesn't seem surprising. But also, it isn't clear what the delay is with--are you waiting for them to take a necessary step, or are you waiting for "help" on the things you need to do?
    – user45590
    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:05
  • If I were you, I would continue interviewing for other internships, since it sounds like this one may not happen.
    – keshlam
    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:07
  • @dan1111 Yes! I'm waiting for them to take necessary steps. I've updated my post now.
    – Michael Jackson
    Apr 14, 2016 at 12:19
  • How can you make them an ultimatum? For example, do you have another job offer that you could accept?
    – Brandin
    Apr 14, 2016 at 13:28

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If you have a non-HR contact at the company, let them know about your concern. This might be the person who interviewed you or a person that you would potentially work under in this internship.

  • It may be that they want to hire you, yet HR is dragging its feet because of bureaucratic inertia. This is quite common in large organizations. Someone on your side at the company may be able to make things happen.

  • On the other hand, this person might be able to just provide more information. Maybe the speed of the process is normal, and your expectations for when you can start are unrealistic. Or maybe circumstances have changed, and they can let you know.

Beyond that, maintain regular contact with HR as you have been doing. Try not to pester them constantly, but regular contact is justifiable in such a case. Certainly, if they tell you some step will be done by a certain date, follow up and ask about it shortly after that.

Unfortunately, though, you don't have much leverage in this situation. You are dependent on the company completing things, and for an internship they may not have a huge incentive to do so. An "ultimatum" will not get you anywhere.

Keep on pursuing this, but given the uncertainty (particularly that you don't have a written contract), also keep looking for other options. Don't assume this internship will happen.

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  • I completely agree with you. I also feel this opportunity is much more important to me than for them. It is a <25 people company. I'm not sure how they will respond if I complained about their only HR representative to them. Should I try reaching HR with my concerns instead?
    – Michael Jackson
    Apr 14, 2016 at 17:32
  • @MichaelJackson Definitely do not complain about anyone to them. They could be slow for many valid reasons but complaining will surely don't make them speed up. If anything, it might rather make them go back.
    – ereOn
    Apr 14, 2016 at 18:50
  • @ereOn Yeah! I'm going to reach HR with my concern in few days if nothing changed
    – Michael Jackson
    Apr 14, 2016 at 18:52
  • @MichaelJackson, just to clarify, I'm not saying complain about HR. Just go to your best contact at the company, explain that you are still waiting, and share your concern about being able to get everything completed in time to do the internship. It is up to them to decide if they think HR is to blame and take action if appropriate.
    – user45590
    Apr 15, 2016 at 7:04

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