# Clarification on H1B and the Green Card



## Danzaivar (Feb 19, 2009)

Hi, i've been lurking around this forum and looking up immigration to the US for quite a while now and theres a few things I can't find any information on. I was wondering if you guys can help.

As I understand, if you take the standard employment route as a skilled worker/graduate, you need to find an employer willing to sponsor you to get a H1B. This lets you work in the US for that company and only for that specific job. If you lose your job you have 2 months to find an identical one or you have to leave the Country. On the other hand this card is a damn sight quicker to get than a Green Card.

While on this visa you can apply for a Green Card, these usually take a few years to process (Although, i've also read the queue depends on your original country), and if you have this card for 5 years you can apply for Citizenship at which point you get all the spangly good-ness an average American gets, except for Presidency which is a bit beyond what I want anyway.

My questions are:

Is the above information more or less accurate?

You get deported as a non-immigrant (H1-B) if you have no job, if you lose your job when you have the Green Card, are you free to apply for any job or can you only go for one identical to what you already had?

And finally, do you have to apply for a Green card as a H1-B holder or does your company, aside from the Quota for each Green Card category is there any actual difference in what they let you do (Aside from Marriage ones being a 3 year-citizen than a 5 year-citizen)?

--

Basically i'm just trying to figure out if I need to keep the same job until I got a Green card or if I applied for Citizenship? Ideally this wouldn't be an issue but theres the psychological thing of being 'stuck' with a company for just under 5 years or just under a decade. There's also the finding a company that gets you both the H1-B and GC, but I assume if they're willing to one they're willing to both (if I cant apply myself) so you can stick around longer than the H1-B limit.

Currently i'm still at Uni, and don't plan on trying for a few years (until I graduate, or have a lot of work experience too if need be) but I like to research these things well in advance.

Thanks for your help!


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Your problem is going to be getting that H1B, especially in today's economic climate. You don't mention what you do for a living or what level of education you have.

To get an H1B, you must first find a job with an employer that is willing to spend money to get your application processed, wait a considerable amount of time to see if you are approved, then wait to see if you actually get a visa in the lottery process that follows. I think the lottery part only happens twice per year. To submit an application, the employer must provide evidence that there are no US citizens or permanent residents available. That's going to be pretty difficult now. And unless you have some very unusualy qualifications, there are going to be a lot of people ready to start work tomorrow, so there's no incentive for an employer to hire you.

A 'green card' is permanent residence, and it means just that. You don't lose your right to live in the US just because you lost your job.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Danzaivar said:


> Hi, i've been lurking around this forum and looking up immigration to the US for quite a while now and theres a few things I can't find any information on. I was wondering if you guys can help.
> 
> As I understand, if you take the standard employment route as a skilled worker/graduate, you need to find an employer willing to sponsor you to get a H1B. This lets you work in the US for that company and only for that specific job. If you lose your job you have 2 months to find an identical one or you have to leave the Country. On the other hand this card is a damn sight quicker to get than a Green Card.


Basically correct 



> While on this visa you can apply for a Green Card, these usually take a few years to process (Although, i've also read the queue depends on your original country),


Not correct ..The employer has to apply on your behalf ..Sometimes they are nor to keen to do this as they know you can leave as soon as you get it ...



> and if you have this card for 5 years you can apply for Citizenship at which point you get all the spangly good-ness an average American gets, except for Presidency which is a bit beyond what I want anyway.


Basically correct 




> My questions are:
> 
> Is the above information more or less accurate?


As above 



> You get deported as a non-immigrant (H1-B) if you have no job, if you lose your job when you have the Green Card, are you free to apply for any job or can you only go for one identical to what you already had?


You won't be deported as such, but you will be expected to leave.



> And finally, do you have to apply for a Green card as a H1-B holder or does your company, aside from the Quota for each Green Card category is there any actual difference in what they let you do (Aside from Marriage ones being a 3 year-citizen than a 5 year-citizen)?


As above


H1B visa application by the employer have to arrive on April 1st 
for a Oct 1st start


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## Danzaivar (Feb 19, 2009)

Okay great, thanks for the answers guys! I had a feeling you would be okay for Deportation if you had a 'Permanent Residence Card', but with something like this it's dangerous to make assumptions when you could risk so much.

I didn't ask anything about getting a H1-B because I know quite a bit about (Half the threads on this forum are people asking about them). I'm in my second year of a 'Computer Software Development' Masters Degree, so if I applied straight out of uni it wouldn't be for 2-3 years yet, I imagine we'll be starting global Economic Recovery by then. That said i'm actually planning on working this side of the pond for a few years first to get some 'fall back' money as well as improve my CV and thus my chances. 

I appreciate the concern however, feel sorry for people who are trying to move now, with job cuts rampant everywhere. =/


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## tomben (Dec 31, 2008)

Danzaivar said:


> Okay great, thanks for the answers guys! I had a feeling you would be okay for Deportation if you had a 'Permanent Residence Card', but with something like this it's dangerous to make assumptions when you could risk so much.
> 
> I didn't ask anything about getting a H1-B because I know quite a bit about (Half the threads on this forum are people asking about them). I'm in my second year of a 'Computer Software Development' Masters Degree, so if I applied straight out of uni it wouldn't be for 2-3 years yet, I imagine we'll be starting global Economic Recovery by then. That said i'm actually planning on working this side of the pond for a few years first to get some 'fall back' money as well as improve my CV and thus my chances.
> 
> I appreciate the concern however, feel sorry for people who are trying to move now, with job cuts rampant everywhere. =/


After you get your degree you need to find a niche field to gain experience in. Don't just go and be a general web programmer/code monkey. They are 2 a penny over here and always will be especially due to outsourcing. If I were you I'd plan on a few years work experience building up skills in a field that you think will soon be in demand in the US. 

generally speaking you will need the following things going on around the same time period:

1) Good economy & skill shortages in the US
2) Companies hiring
3) You having the exact skills to fill the position that US citizen cannot

For example i got my BSc in Software Engineering & Computation. Worked 4 years as an embedded software engineer in the telecoms field. The economy was in decent shape and with the telecoms boom in the late 90s (prompted by the deregulation of the telecom industry) I found a job within one month of posting my resume on a job site. Then off i went all expenses paid. I consider myself very fortunate that it worked out that way.

Good luck to you


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## Danzaivar (Feb 19, 2009)

tomben said:


> After you get your degree you need to find a niche field to gain experience in. Don't just go and be a general web programmer/code monkey. They are 2 a penny over here and always will be especially due to outsourcing. If I were you I'd plan on a few years work experience building up skills in a field that you think will soon be in demand in the US.
> 
> generally speaking you will need the following things going on around the same time period:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice! I suppose the trick to that approach is just to be one step ahead of 'the next big thing', or have a really niche specialization.

It's always good to hear someone else had a similar path and it worked successfully, so thanks for sharing. 

By the way, California is the 'big place' for software, should I be aiming to get a job there or just try get a job anywhere, i.e. California's a really hard market to crack into?


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

There are a couple of other 'hot spots' like Austin. Also, it might be easier to get a visa for a place that isn't considered to be quite so desirable.

The niche point is really good advice. At one point, some bright guy in India discovered there was an obscure language used to program those scanners that handle tolls and congestion charges. He set up a school and employment agency in India, trained people in the language and the concepts of the system, and then got them jobs in the US. I think he must have made a fortune, since he could probably charge a good deal for the training, since he was so successful at getting people visas, and then of course, got placement fees. No one in the US wanted to learn the language because it was too niche, and at the time there was a lot of work available. The problem with being too niche is that it limits your job opportunities.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Danzaivar said:


> By the way, California is the 'big place' for software, should I be aiming to get a job there or just try get a job anywhere, i.e. California's a really hard market to crack into?


I've just been reading that Silicon Valley is being hard hit by the current downturn. Even Google has announced lay-offs, so right now it sounds as though California isn't really the best place to bank on. (Pun fully intended.)

There are mini-high tech valleys cropping up in various corners of the US and those are worth watching over the next couple of years. Austin, as Synthia mentioned, the Boston area, the "Research Triangle" in North Carolina (I think it is)... or maybe even some little spot out in the middle of no where that will develop over time.

Staying flexible about location is probably your best bet. And then just keep watching the markets, reading the press and trying to second guess the next big thing.
Cheers,
Bev


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## JohnSoCal (Sep 2, 2007)

Danzaivar said:


> Thanks for the advice! I suppose the trick to that approach is just to be one step ahead of 'the next big thing', or have a really niche specialization.
> 
> It's always good to hear someone else had a similar path and it worked successfully, so thanks for sharing.
> 
> By the way, California is the 'big place' for software, should I be aiming to get a job there or just try get a job anywhere, i.e. California's a really hard market to crack into?


I was a software engineer until I retired a couple years ago. I was an independent software design consultant ( Incorporated ) the last 15 years of my career. My specialty was real-time, SCADA, and embedded. I have worked in several locales in the US and a few other countries but the majority of my work was in the San Francisco Bay area. That is definitely the place to be for several reasons. It is the high tech capital of the world and offers the highest salaries, best work environment, and quality of work. I worked at over 20 companies in the SF Bay Area. A very large percentage of the engineers, both software and hardware, were from other countries. They were from Europe, Canada, Asia, etc. It is a very exciting environment. Even though I am retired, I still get several offers for work, including 5 last week alone.

Things are a little slow now in Silicon Valley but the high tech boom will bounce back as it always has and this area will be the leader. Most of the companies in this area are home grown and they aren't leaving.


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## Danzaivar (Feb 19, 2009)

JohnSoCal said:


> I was a software engineer until I retired a couple years ago. I was an independent software design consultant ( Incorporated ) the last 15 years of my career. My specialty was real-time, SCADA, and embedded. I have worked in several locales in the US and a few other countries but the majority of my work was in the San Francisco Bay area. That is definitely the place to be for several reasons. It is the high tech capital of the world and offers the highest salaries, best work environment, and quality of work. I worked at over 20 companies in the SF Bay Area. A very large percentage of the engineers, both software and hardware, were from other countries. They were from Europe, Canada, Asia, etc. It is a very exciting environment. Even though I am retired, I still get several offer for work, including 5 last week alone.
> 
> Things are a little slow now in Silicon Valley but the high tech boom will bounce back as it always has and this area will be the leader. Most of the companies in this area are home grown and they aren't leaving.


Whoa, sounds like a pretty sweet career when you put it like that. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the input everyone. I was originally just looking at California but after looking at Boston and Austin, they seem like pretty nice places to live. Texas definitely surprised me from what I've read on it so far...


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## JohnSoCal (Sep 2, 2007)

Danzaivar said:


> Whoa, sounds like a pretty sweet career when you put it like that. Thanks for sharing!
> 
> Thanks for the input everyone. I was originally just looking at California but after looking at Boston and Austin, they seem like pretty nice places to live. Texas definitely surprised me from what I've read on it so far...


I am pretty familiar with Texas, having worked there and our son lives there. Austin is very nice. I have also done consulting in the Boston area, which I am not too keen on. mainly because of the weather. You have many choices but the San Francisco Bay area ( metro San Jose ) is where its at. If you research the San Francisco Bay area, check the San Jose metro area and not San Francisco itself. San Jose and the adjoining cities like Sunnyvale, Cupertino, etc. are where the companies are located. San Jose is about 45 miles south of San Francisco. Though quite close, the weather is much warmer in San Jose and it is a great area to live and work in. There are several engineers working in the area that do choose to live in San Francisco. It all depends on what one's preferences are.

Good luck in your career. I wish you all the best. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific questions.


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