BCG Reapplication

You need to understand the US immigration system.

Possessing a British or French passport makes no difference, unless you have an Australian or Singaporean passport. Both countries have special treaties regarding work visas for the USA. 

I suspect getting into any US office would be EXTREMELY difficult almost zero.

a) You would need an H1B visa.
- Only a limited number of H1B visas are issued per year, and there are far more applications than visas.
- You need to submit a visa application on the first opening day/week, usually in April.
- If your application gets selected out the lottery, then you have a shot at getting a visa. All unselected applications are rejected.
- You can't start work till October.

b) Graduate from an US university, join company under Optional Practical Training (OPT) and then apply for an H1B visa. OPT is limited to 1 year unless you majored in a STEM subject, then its 3 years.

c) There's also an O-1 visa, but they are reserved for people a the top of their fields like professors, Nobel Prize winners, researchers, awarding winning author, supermodel, c-level executives, unicorn start-up founder, etc.

d) Easiest way is the L1A/L1B intracompany transfer visa, but that requires you to be employee working at a foreign subsidiary of the firm for minimum 1 year
- There is no visa caps or timeframes.

e) This would be for citizens of Canada and Mexico, that are eligible for TN visas. So probably not applicable in your case.

Hey there,

There is always demand in ME considering the region has ambitious diversification targets utilising the current high oil revenues. Getting a role in New York will be difficult in short term due to visa restrictions but you can also go for internal transfer after 1-2 years of good performance 

Thanks 

Ashwin 

Hi there,

Seems like you have an interesting personal background and your eye on multiple targets, which is good. Let’s see which may be the path to success:

1. I wanted to know if there is currently high demand for consultants in Dubai and Doha? There is always demand for consultants in ME and MBB are making an effort to distribute people across the region. At this point, there’s probably too many people wanting to go to Dubai (at least in case of McKinsey over the last few months), which is highest in demand among applicants. Offices in Doha, Abu Dhabi, or even KSA seem to be “easier” to get into these days.
2. How hard is it to get into BCG New York with a UK and French passport? Very hard in the short term if you don’t have a visa or strong ties to the US/New York. In the long term, you could transition from another MBB country once you have established yourself (still not easy but much easier).

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

Hi there, 

If you can choose between a Middle East office and NY, I'd definitely go for the former. NY is quite complicated because of high competition, but also because of visa issues if you are not a US citizen. 

Best,

Cristian

Hello,

In the middle east as of now, there is generally a higher demand than other parts of the world. I would say KSA is the highest, Dubai is second and Doha is third. However, these markets are also becoming increasingly competitive, especially Dubai.

I am not very sure about BCG New York - but I assume as long as you are not an American citizen, there will be some difficulty and uncertainty around your H1B. Might be worth spending few years in a different office and shifting to US on an L1 visa.

All the best!

Rushabh

Hello,

To answer your questions:

I wanted to know if there is currently high demand for consultants in Dubai and Doha? 

Agree with other experts on this - I believe demand is high in both, particularly in Dubai.

Also, how hard is it to get into BCG New York with a UK and French passport?

Moritz said it best - it is quite hard unless you have a visa or a solid network in NY/the US. Another option would be to apply elsewhere, and then request to transfer a few years down the line.

Hi there,

1) I wanted to know if there is currently high demand for consultants in Dubai and Doha? 

McKinsey was diverting candidates from Dubai to Doha and Riyadh until recently (2 months ago), not sure about the exact status for the others (I helped recently someone to get an offer from Kearney Dubai but he was an experienced hired with specific background).

2) Also, how hard is it to get into BCG New York with a UK and French passport?

Very difficult unless you have a way to land a visa somehow. A better path would be to get into an office where you have a working visa and transfer.

In any case, I would recommend to look for a referral. You can find some tips on that here:

▶ How to Get an MBB Referral

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

Currently high demand for consultants in Dubai and Doha?

Not sure how you define “high”, but yes there is! You need to network with these offices to not only see best timeline for you to apply within but also get referrals!

 Also, how hard is it to get into BCG New York with a UK and French passport?

Extremely hard. Not only is NYC one of the toughest offices, but US immigration is tough. You can always try to network/refer your way around it, but if you're debating between Dubai and NYC, Dubai is going to be better odds.

Make sure you're already preparing for interviews now! (You want to be about 80% ready before you apply).

Here's some case reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

And some fit reading: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question

Hello!

I can speak for the US part as a European myself working there: it´s impossible unless you do an internal transfer (for which you need to have worked 1 year at least) or an American passport :(

Cheers, 

Clara

Yes, there is high demand for consultants in the middle east, including Dubai and Doha.

How hard to get into NY with a UK/French passport? Very hard. Impossible, if you don't bring something that clearly states your case upfront on a capability / expertise you can bring to the office (just being a high-potential candidate won't cut it).