Jocko Underground: If Someone Is From Iran and Wants to Move to The USA?
Jocko Willink advises a 24-year-old Iranian expat living in the Gulf States on pathways to immigrate to the USA, emphasizing employment-based visas, skill development, and leveraging language abilities for military or intelligence work. He stresses that success requires building valuable qualifications and that opportunity exists regardless of location.
Summary
In this Jocko Underground podcast episode, a caller from Iran currently living in a Gulf Cooperation Council country asks for guidance on achieving his dream of moving to the United States. The caller explains that he cannot return to Iran due to refusing mandatory military service in the IRGC, and despite working hard (waking at 5am, working 12-hour days, maintaining social media presence), he feels discouraged by his limited finances and the political tensions between Iran and the US. At age 24, he fears needing to sustain this momentum indefinitely.
Jocko responds with optimism, noting the caller's youth as an advantage and outlining multiple legal pathways to American immigration. He explains employment-based visas (EB-1, EB-2), which include categories for individuals with extraordinary ability in science, education, art, business, or athletics; those with advanced degrees or exceptional skills; and skilled workers. He also mentions the investor visa option, requiring $1 million investment in a new US company creating at least 10 jobs.
Jocko identifies two primary practical strategies: (1) working for an international company with overseas offices and eventually transferring internally to a US location, or (2) applying directly to US-based companies willing to sponsor foreign workers. Both require developing valuable skills that make the candidate an asset to America.
Additionally, Jocko highlights an underutilized pathway: leveraging the caller's Iranian background, language capabilities, and local knowledge by pursuing work as a military or intelligence interpreter with the US government—either through the military, state department, or intelligence community. He notes this could eventually lead to residency.
Jocko concludes by emphasizing that opportunity exists everywhere, including the Gulf States, and that moving to America alone doesn't guarantee success—hard work and discipline are required regardless of location. He then promotes the Jocko Underground subscription service as an alternative to external platform dependency.
About this episode
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Key Insights
- Jocko argues that employment-based visas provide multiple categorical pathways (extraordinary ability, advanced degrees, skilled workers) that allow individuals to immigrate if they develop valuable qualifications that benefit the US economy.
- Jocko claims that language ability and cultural knowledge from one's country of origin can be leveraged as significant assets for work in military or intelligence interpretation, potentially creating a pathway to permanent residency.
- Jocko asserts that geographic location is less determinative of success than personal discipline and skill development, and that the same hard work required to immigrate to America is equally applicable to building opportunity elsewhere.
Topics
Transcript
This is the Jocko underground podcast number 224 sitting here with echo Charles We have some questions from the front lines from planet Earth people that are in the trenches right now trying to figure it out And we are going to provide some guidance some answers or at a minimum some courses of action that you can follow to Navigate what echo Charles calls the maze of life Okay, right on let's get into it let's get into it first question um hello taco echo i was born and raised in iran and i now live as a resident expat in gcc country do you know what that is it's the gulf states there's saudi arabia bahrain qatar uae…
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