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HOW to find H1B Visa Sponsors? 6 Options, Guide

If you plan to work in America, you need a work visa. There are many nonimmigrant visa types in the US, that give work authorization. As a majority of US work visa seekers are high-skilled, H1B Visa is the most popular of all of them. The biggest challenge many faces is how to find H1B Visa sponsoring companies that can file H1B visas on their behalf.

This article will look at the six best options for finding H1B visa-sponsoring companies. If you are looking for an end-to-end process, read How to apply for H1B Visa – Various Steps, Process

If you are new to the H1B Visa process, you may read: Basics of H1B Visa, Commonly Asked Questions on H1B Visa

Your current Geographic location Importance to finding H1B Sponsor

Depending on where you are located, some of the options we discuss in this article may or may not work out. For example, finding an internship may not immediately help someone, who is outside of the US, get an immediate H1B sponsorship. We will highlight the same when we talk about each of the options.

Below are the six best ways to find H1B Visa sponsors if you plan to work in the US on an H1B visa. We will look at each of them in detail.

  1. Use H1B Visa Sponsors Database
  2. Find an internship at an H1B sponsoring company
  3. Get a job at a global consulting company (MNCs)
  4. Find a role at a boutique consulting company
  5. Find a job at a university or non-profit research organization
  6. Apply for Jobs directly at companies that sponsored H1B visa in the past.

Option 1: Search H1B Visa Sponsors Database

The simplest way to find an H1B sponsor is to look at the website H1BGrader.com, which has H1B Visa Sponsors Database. They have taken data from USCIS H1B Data Hub and H1B LCA data published by the US Department of Labor for public disclosure and nicely put up search options to find sponsors using the below options.

  • You can search for H1B sponsors by company name, state, and city.
  • You can browse the H1B companies list by  H1B Job Titles, City, etc.
  • You can view H1B Salaries  by Company
  • If you know the company, you can look at the LCAs’ details to see what kind of jobs they have filed H1Bs in the last ten years.

Based on your criteria, you can find the list of H1B sponsoring companies in a city or by job title of your interest and create a list. You can even use the Grade on H1BGrader.com to do the ranking.

Apply for a Job, ask for H1B sponsorship: Once you have the list of H1B sponsoring companies, the next step is to apply for a job at that company or reach out to anyone who works in that company to plan for the next steps. Once you find a job, then ask them to sponsor for H1B Visa, when the H1B registration process starts.

Below is a screenshot of how the H1BGrader.com search looks like, you have options to choose the right tab and search by job title or city as well.

H1B Sponsors Database - Search by Job Title, City, Company
H1B Sponsors Database – Search by Job Title, City, Company

Option 2: Start with Internship, Progress to H1B visa

The option of an internship is very logical for F1 visa students who are studying in the US in a degree program and plan to graduate soon. Depending on where you are living and studying, you could fall into one of the two options below

  • Studying in the USA: If you are living and studying in America on an F1 visa, you get options such as CPT, OPT, and STEM OPT to work and gain some practical experience. This is nothing but internship time. You can find an internship at a company that offers H1B sponsorship and prove your value so that they offer you a full-time job. Once they offer you a full-time job, you can ask them to sponsor you with an H1-B Visa. You can validate or verify if a company sponsors H1B by checking H1BGrader.com
  • Studying outside of USA: If you are not in America and studying in your home country, then you can also try to find an internship at a company that has US Operations and employees. If they have US operations, they are likely to have international workers as well. You can check H1BGrader to find out if the company sponsors H1B visas in the US. If so, you can find an internship at that company and then do well to convert that to full-time job. Eventually, in a year or two, you can request them to sponsor an H1B visa and move you to work in the US.

You can use the above-listed Option 1 method to create a list of H1B sponsoring companies and then go after them to find internships at those companies. When you find an internship or co-op at a company that can sponsor an H1B visa, you need to make sure that the company that you pick up the internship from is willing to sponsor an H1B visa at some point for you after graduation. 

Note: You do not have to confuse or scare the companies with your H1B visa sponsorship requirements when applying for an internship. You can hint at the final stages of internships, asking if they plan to sponsor H1B for anyone who becomes a full-time employee after the internship.

Option 3: Find Jobs at Global Consulting Companies

Global Consulting companies like TCS, WIPRO, Infosys, Accenture, etc. have a large workforce that works on H1B visas. These are multinational companies(MNCs) that have various kinds of roles ranging from IT roles to accounting. Usually, if you are based outside of the US and plan to work in the US, working for these companies could be your best bet.

If you are outside of the US, you can apply for a job at any of these large global consulting companies like TCS, WIPRO, Infosys, etc., and make sure you negotiate about the H1B Visa sponsorship when you take the offer. Some say they can do it in one year or two years. Some may say they cannot. You need to validate and get some commitment from the manager on this before you join.

Joining outsourcing companies without a commitment from the manager is going to be difficult because, internally, there would be a very long queue of employees waiting for H1B Visa sponsorship.

Option 4: Boutique Consulting Companies in USA

Thousands of boutique consulting companies outside of the US have US operations. They hire people outside of the US and bring them to the US to work on their projects. These are not big outsourcing firms, but rather small companies with limited resources and people. Many of these companies are focused on some industry verticals or some specific areas, where large players do not operate.

You need to find some of these specific boutique IT consulting companies in your home country or in the US that can sponsor your H1B visa. You can also use H1BGrader.com to find such small Boutique Consulting companies as well and contact them.

Issues with IT Bodyshops, Chances for Fraud

When you are working with small Boutique Consulting companies, there is a chance for you to stumble upon IT Bodyshops, where there is a chance for fraud. You need to be very careful when you work with these kinds of companies.

  • With the H1B Visa rules changes over the years, it has become very difficult to find small companies with a credible background to sponsor H1B visas.  You would need to have personal connections in small companies to evaluate their profile and pick up a role.
  • There are many small IT Bodyshop companies that take money from you and claim that they will sponsor H1B Visa. You will need to be very careful with such companies as legally you should NOT pay for your H1B visa filing fee or expenses.
  • Avoid H1B fraud companies as listed by the US Dept of Labor
  • One way to avoid fraud is by talking to close your network of people both in your home country and USA.
  • You would see lots of people posting contact info on the blog or Facebook groups telling them they will help you with sponsors and everything, be careful!  DO NOT share your information publicly.  USCIS is very careful screening small-size companies, make sure the company you pick has a good background by verifying our H1B Visa Database like H1BGrader.

We at RedBus2US.com do NOT sponsor H1Bs. We are NOT associated with any large or small company. We are a community-driven blog educating students and professionals and do not do any H1B sponsorship. We are not associated with anyone who sponsors H1Bs. Be careful when someone uses our name.

Option 5: Find Jobs at US Universities, Cap Exempt H1Bs

Another great way to work in America on H1-B Visa is to find a job at a non-profit research institution or a University. Typically, most non-profit higher education institutions do not fall under H1B Visa annual cap restrictions, so they are free to sponsor anyone as long as they have a job and believe that you are the right candidate.  The H1B sponsored by such Universities or non-profit research institutions is called cap-exempt H1B.

As you would be considered cap-exempt as you do not have to go through the H1B visa cap quota, which has a set limit of 85,000 H1B visas per year. It is a great option for anyone on an H4 visa or F1 Visa if you like to work at a school.  You got to be careful here, if you miss the cap start date in April and join a University, then you would need to wait until next year for moving out to a regular company, so be careful!

The biggest caveat is that you cannot transfer your cap-exempt H1B to any other regular company that is subject to an annual H1B cap. Example: If you get an H1B visa sponsored at a university under cap-exempt, you cannot transfer it to companies such as Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, etc.

Option 6: Apply for jobs at companies that sponsored H1Bs in the past

One of the best options is to apply for jobs at companies that previously sponsored H1B Visas. You can install the Chrome Extension for H1B Sponsor Checker by H1BGrader and search for jobs on websites such as LinkedIn or Indeed. The extension will automatically show directly on the job search website if a company has sponsored for H1B or not.

Also, the extension will let you see the company’s full H1B approvals history, salaries, and Green Card info as well. It looks like in the screenshot below. You can read more about the H1B Sponsor Checker Extension on H1BGrader.com

H1B Sponsor Checker Extension by H1BGrader Showing Sponsor Info

H1B Sponsor Checker Extension by H1BGrader Showing Sponsor Info

What are other ways to find H1B Visa Sponsors?  Any other ideas?

   

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148 Comments

  1. People planning to pay for visa should think twice this year. Paying for visa processing is absolutely illegal. USCIS started crackdown on several consultancies last year. With trump in power, and increased scrutiny of H1b process, you would simply lose your money.

    Reply
    • Stop throwing around your useless comments. We are all professionals here, trying to play by the rules. Everyone is aware that is a fraud if they plan to buy the H1B Visa.
      It’s a matter whether or not people out here is willing to risk from being deported from the United States

      Reply
      • The purpose of this forum was to help genuine people with their queries/pursuits but the forum is being misused by people like you, who are willing to ‘pay’ for the visa. Clearly indulging in illegal activities.

        Forum administrator are quite active here, and I would love to see if they think otherwise.

        Reply
  2. Hi,

    I am a Financial Risk Management professional with 7+ years of experience. I am currently working as a full time professional in the United States for a large financial corporation on an L2 EAD. My visa is expiring in June 2017 and I’m looking for consultants through who I can apply for H1B in 2017. Please mail me contact information of your consultancy/ company so I can share my profile.

    My contact mail,
    [email hidden privacy]

    LinkedIn Profile:
    [Info hidden privacy]

    Thank you,
    Kavya

    Reply
      • Thanks for your useless criticism. Thank you for forwarding my case to the USCIS, I have done no illegal business or activity. Read through the post, it is as good as seeking employment through a consultancy. Shows the level of frustration and you carry around, doesn’t affect me anyways.

        Reply
        • It is illegal for employees to pay for the visa processing costs. You also published your linkedin profile, so its easier to track you – which I have used while reporting you to USCIS and DOL.

          Reply
  3. Hello,

    My H1B application got picked in the lottery and I received and RFE on my application for Client letter and project details.
    My consultancy folks withdrew my application.
    Is there a way to follow up on the same application? Or once withdrawn , is my case gone.

    Kindly respond.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Roshan – Please share some contacts if you come across consultancies who are willing to sponsor H1B. At this point I am willing to cover the expenses incurred in the H1B Process.

      kkavyabr@gmail.com

      Reply
  4. I have 6years experience as a chef in hotel.so can I have any job opportunity in USA.if any job is like that,to whome I have to concern

    Reply
    • Hi , This is Amrita. I am working with Samsung R&D for last 4 years and majorly worked in Android, Java, NFC , C etc. and have a very good skillset in programming and datastructure. I am looking for a H1B sponser for the year 20017. Please contact me @pathak13@gmail.com .

      Thanks!!!

      Reply
  5. Hi,

    I am working in MNC compnay in Bangalore and currently I have 2.4 years of experience in Java technology. Could you please advice me on how to apply for H1B?

    Reply
  6. Hi,
    This is Raja working as Tech Architect in Java, J2EE skillset with one of the leading company in India.

    My H1B petition, applied by my previous company was approved in 2012, but I moved out of company by the time approval decision received. So I did not go for stamping.

    Have found recently in uscis.gov website my petition is in reopened/reconsidered status. Please suggest, advice on how to re-use this H1B petition (possibilities of out-of-cap). Am right now in India.

    Thanks in advance for kind information.

    Reply
  7. Hi,
    My H1B petition, applied by my previous company was approved in 2012, but I moved out of company by the time approval decision received. So I did not go for stamping.

    Have found recently in uscis.gov website my petition is in reopened/reconsidered status. Please suggest, advice on how to re-use this H1B petition as part of out-of-cap. Am right now in India.

    Reply
  8. Hi,I have 7years experience as customer service officer in a bank.How can i get H1b visa.please contact me on this email ayshabello_007@yahoi.com

    Reply
  9. Hi ,
    I am on G1 visa valid upto 3 years in US and want to know if I can apply for H1B or any other visa to continue my stay.
    Does H1B visa is the only option or we can have some other catagory also to apply for Green Card

    Reply
      • We are hiring for qualified IT professionals with experience in the following technologies

        1) ISILON
        2) AVAMAR, DD, Networker
        3) Azure Cloud
        4) VRA (VRealize Automation), VCA, VCO – Cloud
        5) ServiceNow Admins and Architects

        You can reach me at – minal@znainc.com.

        Reply
    • This review is about EBS Minds and iEratech. Fraud companies.
      I have lodged a complaint with uscis and Department of Labor in USA so that in future companies like EBSMINDS (http://www.ebsminds.com/) and iERATECH does not flourish in USA . The culprits are Manmohan Akkavaram, Brijesh Vyas and Raghu MUTUKULA. All these 3 people are responsible for taking the money from me (USD 4000) for processing the H1B Visa. After they took the mopney , they have not moved my Visa further and refused to send me for H1B Visa stamping even thought the visa was picked in lottery and Approved. I hope they are investigated by USCIS and DOL and procescuted. I am ready to be a whisteblower and provide evidence in any court of law. Please contact me in India at +91 709319 8849

      EBSMinds also goes by the name of ebs-minds IT inc, so beware of this fraud company

      Reply
  10. Hi Saurabh,
    Does students pursuing higher studies in USA also have to go through this lottery madness ? What happens when they are not picked ?

    Reply
    • H1bNextTime,

      Everyone has to go through the lottery/cap at least once. Students who complete higher education in US get their own 20K cap (which also goes through the lottery). They can avail up to 36 months of OPT (under STEM and some other considerations) and so can take multiple shots at the lottery during those 36 months. If not selected, they can either move to another visa status (like a dependent status or O1) or work remotely for the company (say from Canada) or return home.

      Reply
  11. Hi,
    I have done my masters in dentistry and 9 yrs working/teaching experience. Also have family business with 7 yrs experience. Will any company in US give a job just on basis on my work experience in administration?

    Reply
  12. Hi,

    My name is Sathish and I’ve 2.6 years experience in Software testing.

    Now, I would like to work in USA.

    So, could you please let me know how can I proceed further?

    Reply
    • Manmohan Akkavaram (972-876-6485) runs a big Fraud company and has cheated people like me by promising H1B visas.
      He collects USD 4000 from me and now refuses to pick my call – Beware of Fraud companies by name EBS MINDS (http://www.ebsminds.com/) iEratech.
      No Visa no Stamping nothing . All my hard earned money gone down the drain. I have lodged a complaint with USICS and Department of labor on this fraud company so that thye can take action.
      Please nbe aware of this , so nobody else pays any money to Manmohan Akkavaram and his family business for H1B visa. They are big cheaters in the IT industry in USA.
      I am stuck in India and I can give you more detaisl – +91 709 319 8849

      Reply
  13. Hello dear,
    I have valid B1/B2 visit visa along with my family. I visited USA last year on this visa for weeks.
    Can some tell me how I can stay /work in USA on legal way with this visa?
    or how can I move to change the status of this visa to work visa (or any kind of residence visa) from USA soil?
    I need to stay on legal way in USA.

    Please help to find the way.

    Have a good day.

    Thanks,

    Reply
    • Siddique,

      B-1/2 doesn’t allow you to work in US. It is for tourism purpose only. In order to work, you need to get a work visa like H-1 or L-1.

      Reply
  14. Hello Admin – redbus2us.com
    Information about H1B & when to start process for H1B documentation
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

    I am F-1 student completing Masters by May 2017.… so:
    1] when should I start looking for a H1B employer if I need to work from JUNE 2017 ?
    2] Will my H1B petition submition (by 1st April 2017 lot) be for H1B FY 2018 ?
    Could you please advice me with possible H1B sponsor options that I can try. I understand absolutely NO OBLIGATION on your part for any advice or suggestion.
    I am looking for genuine H1b sponsor. Please help me.
    Thank You.
    Chin2

    Reply
    • Chin2,

      This is a good article to start with. Although it was written for this year, you can just move the dates by one year to come up with a plan for next year.

      Reply
  15. I am having 6 years of experience in FORMULATION & DEVELOPMENT, in indian based Pharmaceutical company, looking for a H1b sponsor.

    Reply
    • JANAK PATEL,
      We do not advise on sponsors here. Also, the H1B quota for FY 2017 was filled on April 7th, 2016. You will have to wait for one more year my friend for the next filing in April 2017.

      Reply
  16. Hello,
    I am Arup from Dhaka, Bangladesh and interested of getting H1B visa sponsor. I have about 9 years’ experience on Software Quality Assurance and Testing in Samsung R&D center.

    Purpose: Requesting for concern person/dept EMAIL address for H1B visa.

    Could you please help me for managing a sponsor regarding H1B visa?

    Thanks in advance.
    Arup

    Reply
  17. I am a 10 year experienced HR professional looking for an opportunity in US and also a sponsor that can get me an H1B Visa sponsorship. Can i get some help and guidance here.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Lot of people posting their requirements asking for sponsorship. I don’t think it’s a good place to do that. Job hunt sites like Dice as mentioned in the above blog should be the right places.

      Reply
  18. I’m a full stack software developer. Mainly focused on distributed scalable java-based back-end (Java, REST, JMS, Camel, Mongo, Elastic, Hazelcast, Openstack) and front-end (Backbone, Angular, Play) – full stack development – data modelling, service architecture, implementation, testing and deployment.

    8+ years in IT
    5+ years of professional software development including high-loaded distributed systems, UI, SQL and NoSQL.

    Live in Russia, looking for H1B.

    Reply
  19. Hi,

    I have 10+ years of experience in C++ in Banking and Financial domain. Currently i’m working for an investment bank in Bangalore. I’m looking for a H1B sponsor.

    Reply
  20. Hi , I am looking for H1B sponsorship to work in US. I am currently working on Hadoop and Teradata ETL dev project in Mexico, having 9 years of experience. I was wondering if you could help me get sponsorship or direct me to the right person. Thanks

    Reply
  21. I am having 5+ yrs of experience in Enovia Product lifecycle management (PLM) in FMCG, AERO and Automotive domain. currently working in TCS. looking for H1 B sponser.

    Reply
  22. I already have a H1B visa starting from Oct 2015. Currently I am in India and it seems my current employer does not have any onsite opportunities for my skill set. Is there a way that I can apply in other companies and travel US on H1B visa. If yes, how can i approach. Please help.

    Reply
    • vishal,

      You can find another employer and ask them to file a cap-exempt petition for you. You would need copy of 797 approval notice or at least the receipt number for this.

      Reply
  23. I am having 10+ years of experience in Oracle Siebel CRM, Oracle CRM OnDemand and Oracle Sales Cloud and currently working in a MNC in Bangalore ,looking for a H1b sponsor. Could you please suggest me on the same.

    Reply
  24. I am having H1b, and my wife is having dependent visa. She would also like to work in US, can anyone suggest how to proceed ? or any good sponsor consultancy (which you or any of your friend have experienced ).

    Thanks,
    Hemant Patil

    Reply
  25. please suggest me how to apply for H1B visa

    according to my profile how it works & the process for starting for H1B

    Reply
  26. please suggest me how to apply for H1B visa

    according to my profile how it works & the process for starting for H1B

    Reply
  27. I am having 9 years of experience in Microsoft Technologies and currently working in a USE base MNC in Bangalore ,looking for a H1b sponsor. Could you please suggest me on the same.

    thanks
    Ashok

    Reply
  28. Hi,
    My husband is having H1B and he is in US, I am working in India software testing manual and work ex of 7 + years. I have H4 visa. I want to get H1 so that can work in US. Please advice.
    Regards

    Reply
    • This can be done. If your Husband has I140 approved, then u can apply for EAD under H4. Once it is approved ur allowed to work with out issues. it is currently under progress and not taking much time as well( approx 3 months).

      If your husband does NOT have I140 approved, then u need to apply H1B by finding any employer or asking the current employer for H1B.

      All the best!

      Reply
  29. Hi Sir/Madam,

    I am woking in a MNC company in Delhi India. My wife is in H1-B holder I am having H4. I am also holdng B1-Visa from my current compay. Had travel once in US on B1 visa. Now want to apply for H1-B for 2015.

    Please help me to getting sponsersip.

    Regards,
    Amit Nigam
    Mobile :+91-9958897744

    Reply
  30. Hi,

    Am in India working in a IT company having 5 years experience. I want a h1b visa. Am planning to go with a consultant. Please advice.

    Reply
    • Hi All,

      I got cheated by saazvat technologies…They got money from me 1 lak 89 thousand and they did not apply the h1b for me…
      i planning to give a police complaint…be aware of cheating by saazvat technologies.

      please note that the phone numbers on website are fake !
      http://www.saazvat.com/

      Reply
      • I am sorry, but what you did was also a fraud. You cannot pay to any company to apply for a H1-B for you. Don’t tell me you did not know that.

        Reply
  31. This article is very useful for beginners like me.

    Need more details on “Find H1B Visa Jobs and get job offer”.

    If I apply and get an offer from a company interested in sponsoring H1B, how long will the company wait for the process of H1B to complete. For example, if I apply for a job today and get an offer in 15 days, The company has to wait till April 2015, is it a realisitc case.

    Is there any sepcific time of the year where the time gap between finding a H1B visa job and travelling to thw US would be less.

    Reply
  32. Hi Saurabh/All.

    I need an advise.

    I am working in an Indian MNC and my wife is also working in the same company. We both are on H1B and both the H1Bs are valid till next year.

    We two are working for different clients and in different states and want to shift to a common location. My wife’s project is getting over this June and she has to look for a new project and it seems there are less chances that she will be able to try find a project in the same location as me.

    What are our options, she doesn’t want to quit the job and apply for H4.

    -Ankur

    Reply
    • Ankur,
      She has following options:
      – Find another client near your location and work for them on H-1
      – Find another employer near your location and apply for H-1 transfer and work for the new employer
      – Move to H-4 temporarily and continue searching for a new employer. Once the employer is finalized, apply for H-1 transfer + COS from H-4 to H-1.

      Reply
  33. I am just wondering if the LCA data at: http://redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-sponsors/ can be sorted based Job Title? Normally for IT, there are only “PROGRAMMER ANALYST” or “Computer Analyst” . It will surely help to drill down for non-IT people like me.

    Reply
  34. Hi Saurabh,

    Need some urgent advice.

    I am in US and my fiance is working in Indian MNC..She has an approved H1B petition which is valid till Oct 2014. But her company is not willing to send her to US right now as no new projects are there and so no visa stamping is done yet.

    We are getting married in May and its very likely that she would be travelling to US with me on H4 visa after leaving her current job as there is no confirmation on her stamping and H1B by her employer.

    Now my question is: Can she apply for H1B under cap exempt after coming to US on H4 as her petition would still be valid till Oct 2014? Can an employer file a fresh H1B for her under cap exempt in this case so that she can work too before her petition gets expired? Or will H4 affect her previous H1B petition? Also am worried if it will cause any problem for her H4 visa in the first place?

    Waiting eagerly for comments and suggestions.. Thanks!

    Reply
    • >> Or will H4 affect her previous H1B petition?

      H4 does not affect H1B. I did the same with my spouse, traveled back on H4 and applied for H1B again, no issues. And yes she will be cap exempt.

      When going for H4 stamping please avoid talking about your spouse’s H1B petition.

      Reply
  35. Very interesting petition

    https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/grant-visa-foreign-students-who-earned-engineering-degree-united-states/lqRwyhl6

    Reply
  36. My Two Cents

    The current process of a company applying for H1B in April and waiting till October for the candidate to join work simply flies in the face of reality.

    There is no company in the United States of America or for that matter anywhere in the world who is willing to wait 7-9 months for you to join them after a successful interview. In other words nobody gives a candidate nine months to join their company. Company rules do not allow positions to be open for that long.

    In today’s world of shirking IT budgets it is almost impossible to find an employer who is willing to hire a person from outside US say India. Reason, relocation costs. In general, it costs a major corporation upwards of $50,000 plus to get a person hired from India. It does not matter if you are willing to pay for your relocation. Company policies do not work that way!

    The only way to get into US for a person from India is to join the outsourcing gang. As the article suggests negotiate your H1B VISA with your offer letter. This also may last too long. If the pending immigration reforms bill is passed the outsourcing industry will have a tough time getting H1Bs for their employees.

    Stay clear of the desi/Indian outsourcing companies. USCIS and Indian consulates are cracking down on them heavily. Rejection rates are high and going up in numbers. You are better off learning German or some other foreign language and looking for jobs in other countries than wasting your time with consulting companies.

    In a nut shell, doors are closing for experienced professionals wanting to migrate to US from India. Pursuing immigration options to Australia or European countries may be a better use of your time and energy.

    Reply

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