
Ask HN: Visas beside the H-1B for working in the United States - winter_blue
I&#x27;d like to move to the US and work there. I don&#x27;t think I would have any problems getting a job, but the H-1B cap continues to be a major roadblock.<p>Do any of you know of a different visa or immigration status that allows you to work in the U.S.?<p>Here&#x27;s some info particular to me, if it helps:<p>- I was not born in a oversubscribed country (i.e. China, India, Mexico or Philippines). Does this makes getting an employment-based green card easier? Additionally, is it possible for a company to directly file an immigrant petition for you, without you first being in the country on an H-1B ?<p>- I have a Bachelor&#x27;s degree (in Comp Sci) from a fairly well-known US university. (I had to leave the country after graduation, for certain reasons.)
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tn13
There is a concept called "consultancies" (I am not a lawyer and have no clue
about the legalities). Many of them provide H1B to anyone for a fee of $5K
refundable deposit.

The best way to find out the list is to see the USCIS issued list of companies
that had filed H1B petitions. The top ones will be companies like Infosys, TCS
etc. The bottom ones who files around 10 - 40 petitions are generally these
consultancies. Contact them.

Note: I have no clue about the legalities. I am not a lawyer.

~~~
horofx
Care to elaborate more about how to find those consultancies?

~~~
tn13
Consider this :

[http://axiomtechgroup.com/h1b-visa-
sponsorship/](http://axiomtechgroup.com/h1b-visa-sponsorship/)

You will find many more on:

[http://www.immihelp.com/](http://www.immihelp.com/)

[http://www.myvisajobs.com/H2B_Visa.aspx](http://www.myvisajobs.com/H2B_Visa.aspx)

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NonEUCitizen
If you work for a company outside the US that has a US office, and they agree
to transfer you to the US office, you can get an L-1 visa:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-1_visa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-1_visa)

~~~
winter_blue
I am aware of that visa. But it requires you to work for them for atleast a
year. In addition, the L-1 is only for executives and managers. The L-2 visa,
which is for normal employees, has no transferability (unlike the H-1B), so it
ties you down to that particular to employer. If loose your job or resign, you
have to leave the country immediately.

You _can_ however perform an adjustment of status (AOS) to H-1B, while working
on an L-2 -- but it requires going through the H-1B lottery, wait times, and
all that nonsense. In comparison, Germany gives highly-skilled a work visa in
_7 days_ (cf.
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6648443](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6648443)).

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nopassrecover
Where are you a citizen of?

Australians can get the E-3 visa for example, though I'm pretty sure that's
sponsored which you seem to not be looking for.

~~~
tostitos1979
If one is from a country that has a relatively easy employment visa (e.g.
Canada, Australia), is it worth getting an H1B? I know that H1B is dual intent
(i.e. lets one apply for a green card). Any other reasons?

~~~
nopassrecover
As I understand it (based only on internet resources and the anecdotal
experience of friends) the E-3 has many benefits beyond a H1B.

It's cheaper, easier to apply for, processed faster, allows heterosexual
married spouses to work, is renewable indefinitely, and has a separate annual
quota from H1B's (that to my knowledge has so far never been exhausted).

There are a few catches, some technical and quite specific (e.g. limits on
international travel). The main one seems to be you will need to leave the
country (possibly overseas) every 2 years to apply for an extension.

It is not a dual-intent visa, but there seems to be some contradictions about
that and some people seem to have made the transition to a green card. I
imagine you'd need to talk to a lawyer about that - having a green card
application in progress when it comes times for an E-3 extension would
potentially be an issue.

