Route: any job (§ 26 BeschV)

US citizens can be approved for any employment, regardless of qualification or employer seat.

The Employment Ordinance (BeschV) lists a few nationalities for whom the Federal Employment Agency (BA) may approve any employment. The United States is one of them.

What the law says

§ 26 (1) BeschV: for nationals of, among others, Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, Korea, New Zealand and the United States of America, the approval "mit Vorrangprüfung" (with priority check) can be granted for any employment, independent of the seat of the employer (text). The text sets no qualification requirement.

• Not an entitlement: the wording is "kann" (may). The BA decides.
• Priority check: the BA always checks whether a preferred worker (German, EU) is available (§ 39 (3) AufenthG).
• Temporary agency work: approval is refused (§ 40 (1) Nr. 2 AufenthG).
• "Independent of the seat of the employer": the employer need not be based in Germany. Practical consequences, such as payroll and social-security registration for foreign employers, are not covered here.
• The residence permit for employment under the BeschV is based on § 19c (1) AufenthG, which refers to the ordinance.

Steps

1. Job offer or contract. Salary and terms must be in line with Germany (collective agreement or local standards).
2. Enter visa-free, apply at LEA Berlin within 90 days: Entry and residence.
3. LEA asks the BA for approval; arbeitsagentur.de. Start work after the title is issued.

When another route is better

With a degree and a high salary, the Blue Card needs no BA approval for the regular threshold, gives faster settlement and brings in family easily. For self-employed work see Freelance.

Whether a § 26 permit leads to a settlement permit after a fixed period: not verified here. The rules for settlement are in § 9 AufenthG, check them with the LEA.