There are some orchestras would ask (in the application) if applicant need visa sponsorship for employment to legally work in the US.
I’ve seen a lot of my friend who are not musician end up don’t get a job in the US (or even get excluded in the resume round) because they need visa sponsorship. My worry is if I said, “yes I need a visa sponsorship to be able to work in the US,” I would get excluded from their radar either in the beginning or the end. So, in this case, should I declare to them in the form that I need visa sponsorship?
FYI: what a company need to do on sponsoring a visa is to pay the fees: visa application fees, legal fees, premium processing if needed, and other fees that it not so sure. It can range from 1 thousand to 10 thousand. Other than the duty of paying all the fees on visa application. The employer need to prove the job need (aren’t enough people in the U.S. are capable for this job), and prove hiring foreign worker won’t harm US work, etc.
Speaking as someone who has a (non orchestral) job in a country for which I required a work visa:
You should declare this. If the organization is requiring applicants to declare it, there is a likelihood that they do not have the financial means to sponsor work visas for foreign candidates. If you do not make them aware that you'll need one to work the job, and you end up winning, you run the risk of having to forfeit your job offer. In my case I've been working a job on a number of rolling temporary contracts until I eventually became successful in interviewing for the role permanently. A year into the permanent contract I had to get a visa renewal and asked my company if they could sponsor me. They stated that when they undertook the hiring process for my job, they turned applicants away who did not have a work visa as they had a change in mandate for my department to only hire within the local applicant pool. I was told that as such, my pre-existing (at the time) right to work was a factor in deciding to offer me the interview for the permanent contract. ****** orchestras will have a fund to pay for foreign visas, but regional ones may not. I would not risk this, especially at a time where governments are getting increasingly protectionist and isolationist and may impose funding mandates to arts organizations to only hire from the country's talent pool.