I don’t have a higher degree. I moved here to work on a high profile academic project as a software engineer. It was their policy not to sponsor permanent visas

I don’t have a higher degree. I moved here to work on a high profile academic project as a software engineer. It was their policy not to sponsor permanent visas (lost an amazing colleague over this) so to stay here required finding a company willing to sponsor a complex visa. My linkedin is the same as my user name. To add: this was just pre-Trump so don’t know if my experience is still typical.