[pbiggar]

Like many foreign founders in SF, I've become a bit of an expert on immigration, so I think I can answer all these for you. However, I would say that no matter what, you should talk to a good immigration lawyer. Contact me privately and I can intro you.

Firstly, to clarify the process. You can actually prepare the docs and apply anytime, its just that there is a quota of 65,000 (+ 20000 extra if you have a Masters degree), and its done on a first-come first-serve basis. For the past few years, the visas haven't run out until after October, so you can really apply anytime.

OK, so your questions:

1) Interviews are a crap shoot, so you should apply to lots of companies. More than 10 definitely. February is not too late. If they're going to bring you over on a visa, than its likely that you'll do a few phone interviews, then be flown over for a full day of interviews.

2) With a job offer, you'll almost certainly get a H1B, so long as you apply in time. You'll need to have a relevant degree and not have any criminal convictions, but otherwise it should all be fine. When these fail, its typically because the company or their lawyers made an error or got busy. I've heard of people who got screwed because the visa person at their company was incompetent or too busy, and didn't get the H1B in before they ran out, or made silly mistakes. If possible, be involved in the process (ask for ETAs, offer to help, get on conference calls with the lawyers, etc).

3) There is a lot of lore around this, with people saying that you have 10 days, or a month, or whatever to get out of the country. The thing you want to avoid is being "out of status". If you are out of status for 180 days, you might be kicked out of the country for 3 years. Other than that, there are no hard-and-fast rules, and everybody knows it takes time to get a job.

If you do leave the country, you'll still be on your H1B, and so won't be subject to the caps when you get your next job, which makes it all much easier.

FWIW, I misunderstood some rules when starting CircleCi, and had to get a job quickly: I was able to get one in 5 days. If you're an engineer, there's a massive need for you in SF/SV, so you won't have any problem finding a job on a short schedule like that.

A final thing to note is that H1Bs aren't the only option. There are tons of visas that might work for you depending on where you're from, your qualifications, the company you're applying to, etc. Look into the L1, O1 and J1, and to any visas that apply to your country of origin (eg Australians look at E3 visas).

Happy to answer any more questions, and feel free to reach out to me privately at [e-mail].

And we are hiring, see: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5151422. Please apply!

[eshvk]

> Firstly, to clarify the process. You can actually prepare the docs and apply anytime, its just that there is a quota of 65,000 (+ 20000 extra if you have a Masters degree), and its done on a first-come first-serve basis. For the past few years, the visas haven't run out until after October, so you can really apply anytime.

Minor nitpicks: 1) The 20,000 extra is if you have a U.S. Masters degree which OP may or may not have. 2) In 2012, the visas cap was reached, I think in june of 2012.

> 3) There is a lot of lore around this, with people saying that you have 10 days, or a month, or whatever to get out of the country. The thing you want to avoid is being "out of status". If you are out of status for 180 days, you might be kicked out of the country. Other than that, there are no hard-and-fast rules, and everybody knows it takes time to get a job. FWIW, I misunderstood some rules when starting CircleCi, and had to get a job quickly: I was able to get one in 5 days. If you're an engineer, there's a massive need for you in SF/SV, so you won't have any problem finding a job on a short schedule like that.

To offer a counterpoint: A bunch of people from my company got laid off recently. From what I understand from those that are also on an H1B, yes, finding any arbitrary job isn't hard but finding a good job takes time and effort. Now, the 180 days rule is a hard limit, another number which is usually tossed around is time between latest paycheck received from previous company and potential appearance of the next paycheck. The reasoning being that you would need a "latest paystub" whilst applying for the next H1B. Also, I believe people's paranoia is mainly because of issues that being out of status for a period of time might pose during the green card process. Now, rationally speaking, people would know it takes time to find a new job but then the details are the devil and a visa officer can screw you over if they want to.

[pbiggar]

> finding any arbitrary job isn't hard but finding a good job takes time and effort.

True. If I found myself in this position, I would focus on getting any job first to protect my status, and then working on finding the right job. Which sucks for my new employer of course :(

> Now, the 180 days rule is a hard limit

Actually, it doesn't even come into play until they declare you out of status, and from there you have 180 days. But this is completely playing with fire. I would start to get worried after 30 days, personally.

> another number which is usually tossed around is time between latest paycheck received from previous company and potential appearance of the next paycheck

Totally. When you apply for a new H1B position, they ask for pay stubs from the old one to prove that you're "in status". If you have a good visa lawyer, they should be able to solve this for you. Always always use a good lawyer.

> Also, I believe people's paranoia is mainly because of issues that being out of status for a period of time might pose during the green card process. [...] the details are the devil and a visa officer can screw you over if they want to.

Very very true.

[justforthispost]

Thank you for the detailed comments.

> For the past few years, the visas haven't run out until after October, so you can really apply anytime.

Well, last year it ran out in June. I was interviewing at an American company but we stopped the process because of that.

I'm aware of L1 but that would be extremely hard to pull off. I live in Japan (though not a Japanese citizen), and it's very hard enough to get a programming job at a good American company here in the first place. Mostly they hire in sales & bizdev etc, not much for software development. Then I would have to hope to be transferred. I have heard of companies hiring specifically to transfer but that's quite rare.

The other visas aren't available to citizens of my country (E3 etc), or I don't personally qualify to them (O1 etc).

2) and 3) are reassuring.

And yes, I'll be in touch!

[pbiggar]

You didn't mention the J1, which is surprisingly versatile.

A first glance at the O1 makes people think they don't qualify. I would be surprised if anybody who can code has a less than 40% chance of getting the O1. I've seen it used for 17 year olds, people without degrees, etc.