So to start with you need an employer; you're not going to get anywhere without a company sponsoring you. The problem with H1-B visas is that there is a cap on

So to start with you need an employer; you're not going to get anywhere without a company sponsoring you. The problem with H1-B visas is that there is a cap on visas that only meets ~1/3 of the demand, and the way this is resolved is via a lottery system. You need your paperwork in on a given date in the year (Early April iirc), and it will take a few months to know if your application has been selected; if it's not, you have to wait until next year to apply again. Another option is the O-1 visa. You don't need to have a Nobel prize to get one, but it's definitely the one where you have to show that you are special. As an example, one of the things they like to see is that your proposed pay would be at the 90th percentile of people of people with that role in that location, but there are other criteria. L1 visas are great since there is no lottery, but you do need to work for the same company internationally for a year first. Given all of this, your best bet is to find a large international company you want to work for and apply there and try to work out a plan with their recruiter who should be able to tell you about how they deal with this situation since I'm sure it comes up very often. The most likely outcome is that unless you've nailed down a job before April and are fine with only a 1/3 chance of having a visa in ~August, they'll recommend working in their EU location and then transferring later. Also, the "dual intent" doctrine allows you to get a green card from all of these visas, even if they are considered non-immigrant visas.