[winter_blue]

> but this is not the only visa available for work

Hmm, care to elaborate?

I don't think there's any US work visa that is easier to obtain than the H-1B. As far as I know:

* The L-1 visa is only for intra-company transfers, so unsuitable in most cases.

* The O-1 visa is for proven extraordinary talent, and as such is inaccessible to 99.9% of the population.

* The EB-3 visa has a 4+ year waiting periods, so out of the question.

* The EB-2 visa, if you have a master's degree (related to the job), and were not born in India or China, can be obtained in circa ~1 year. (Labor certification alone could take nine months to a year.)

* The J-1 visa lets your work for a short amount time, but imposes a 2-year ban after the year is over. Anyone even mildly considering moving to the U.S. for longer than a year and half would not use this visa.

* International students in the U.S. can work for a short amount of time after graduation with OPT. But this requires being a international student in the US, of course.

* The EB-1 visa is primarily used by managers transitioning from L-1A visas. The "extraordinary talent" EB-1 oddly has a much higher standard than the O-1. (A good candidate would be a Nobel prize laureate.) For all practical purposes, it is inaccessible to 99.9999% of the world population.

So right now, the "best" alternative to the H-1B is the EB-2. But a company will have to wait for a whole year vs. the 6-7 months for the H-1B. In addition, labor certification is a very expensive process costing around $10k-$20k. It's not guaranteed to return a positive result either. A single minimally qualified U.S. worker could bar the entry of the potential would-be immigrant.

So in your knowledge, is there any visa that's actually easier to obtain than an H-1B and that offers the (AC21) job portability of an H-1B as well?

[GFischer]

Nice, I didn't know about the EB-2 visa (and I do have a master's degree).

Would a prospective employer find an EB-2 sponsorship easier, harder, preferrable than an H1B visa? I understand the 1 year vs 6 months, but it's a 50% chance with those 6 months. Does it have less restrictions on job switching?

[winter_blue]

In terms of freedom, an EB-2 visa is actually a green card category. An EB-2 or EB-3 confers permanent residency status, which means you can do whatever you want. Start a new company, be unemployed, apply for citizenship, etc. You enjoy the same rights as citizens in almost every regard except voting (and running for office).

A correction though: the EB-2 (and any employment-based green card) takes about 21 months or more to process right now. So a company is looking at a circa 2+ years processing time. Because of how complex, expensive, difficult, and time-consuming the process is, I don't know if a lot of employers would use it to bring someone over to the US.

In nearly 99% cases, companies bring people over on an H-1 or L-1, and then over a period of 2-3 years (or more) help them transition to permanent residency (via EB-2 or EB-3) if they really like the person (i.e. you're performance is excellent, etc).

Unfortunately it's really really hard[1] to immigrate to the US. Most people do not realize how hard it is. The "easiest" route unfortunately, is to interview with companies that are willing to apply for an H-1B, and then take your chances at the annual lottery. You'll have to find a job with a company willing to sponsor by mid-March in order to be able to have a shot at coming to the US that year in October.

[1] Recently a bipartisan group of senator published a document that lays out a framework for immigrition reform. In it, they acknowledge: "Our failure to act is perpetuating a broken system which sadly discourages the world’s best and brightest citizens from coming to the United States and remaining in our country to contribute to our economy. This failure makes a legal path to entry in the United States insurmountably difficult for well meaning immigrants." (see: http://www.flake.senate.gov/documents/immigration_reform.pdf – page 3) The phrase "insurmountably difficult" describes very well the status quo of the U.S. immigration system.

[GFischer]

Thank you very much for your answer.

I agree, I've certainly been discouraged of immigrating to the U.S. due to the legal system there.

I know several H1B visa holders, and while they're not doing badly (they might be shorted a little salarywise, but not too much), they're pretty much tied to their jobs (good thing they're on megacorps and can shuffle between divisions, but they're severely limited in their job choices).

[winter_blue]

You are completely wrong on H1B visa holders being tied to their jobs. H-1B holders can switch jobs quite easily. A law (commonly called "AC21") passed in 2000 enabled H1B visa holders to change jobs with ease[1].

I know plenty of H1B that have switched jobs with no problems. I don't where this ridiculous myth originated. Also: there's absolutely nothing that prevents you from getting paid well on an H-1B. If you're being underpaid, you can find a company that'll pay you as you deserve, and yes, switch jobs.

[1] In tech, it's extremely easy for H1B visa holders to change jobs. That's because, pretty much every tech company will sponsor an H1B transfer (not all companies will do an original/initial H1B petition though). Perhaps in other fields, it's a little harder to find a company that'll do a transfer.