[raitom]

Because sponsoring an employment based GC takes considerably more time than filling for an H1B. We're talking at best less than a year for an H1B (filling in April and you receive it in October of the same year) vs 18 months minimum for an European (10+ years for an Indian).

I actually got my H1B at my 2nd try. I did not get pick at my 1st try and had to wait until next year but it went quite smoothly. However for my GC, it took 4 years between the initial conversation with my employer and getting it in my hands. The actual process itself, from the moment the lawyers received all the documents, took 2 years.

[dudul]

I'm not an immigration lawyer but you don't need to have the GC in hands to start working for your employer. You usually get a work permit quickly after the petition is filed.

I used to work with someone whose visa was about to expire so the company just filed a GC to keep her.

That being said, I feel like these things change all the time. When people describe the current H1B process it always seems completely different from the one I went through.

[Ao7bei3s]

The work permit (I-765) does not allow you to enter the US, only to work when already legally in the country (for example, via an H-1B). And neither does the re-entry permit / advance parole (I-131) let you enter, unless you obtain it while in the US.

And those documents can anyway only be applied if already in the country, and once your I-485 is current and I-140 is approved, which for Indians/Chinese/Filipinos means a >10 year wait, and for everyone else means a >1 year wait while PWD, PERM and I-140 process. Large companies can shorten the PWD/PERM wait a bit, but that does little for the backlogged countries and those not already inside the US.

There is no _realistic_ employment based path to a greencard that does not go through a non-immigrant visa.

Also, the work permit processing times have been extremely backlogged over the past year. It is getting better, but I have personally seen a greencard arrive after about a year recently, and the corresponding work permit arrive a week _later_ (useless, by then).

And if you look at large scale statistics available in immigrant communities, you can see approvals are all over the place, with no rhyme or reasons - some people get it in months, for some it takes years. There is no predictability.

[outworlder]

> and for everyone else means a >1 year wait while PWD, PERM and I-140 process.

Filed I-485 in 2020. Still pending. It's currently way more than one year. Some 2022 filers are getting it in a matter of months, but older applications are taking forever.

> The work permit (I-765) does not allow you to enter the US, only to work when already legally in the country (for example, via an H-1B).

H1B allows one to work, by itself. If you get a I-765(aka EAD) and you use that, you immediately lose your H1B status. Which is fine as long as your application is pending. If your I-485 subsequently gets denied, you have to leave and you just lost your shot. Game over. You have to start again from scratch. Assuming you didn't incur in too much unauthorized stay, as you'll get hit with retroactive unauthorized stay.

Most H1B holders do not use their EAD because of that. Note that it's different from the EAD you get as a L2 (spouse of L1). That one doesn't mess with your status. Unless you get EAD pursuant to your green card application. That one messes with your status.

Same with advance parole. H and L visas don't need that to travel.

You can get your H1B status back if you file for an extension.

[Ao7bei3s]

And even then there are always more caveats of course. For example, while as you say H-1B's generally don't rely on EAD/AP, H visas are 6 years and can be renewed indefinitely once I-140 is approved, whereas L visas are hard capped at 5-6 years. This means there is serious risk for someone on an L visa to max out their visa and end up being forced to rely on the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole (AP). With all the problems that brings. This can easily happen if just a few things go wrong (e.g. during the PERM stage - hiring freezes, PERM audits, random covid fallout like legal uncertainty around how notice posting requirements interact with company wide work from home...). That is one reason why many L-1's like to play the H-1B lottery every year.