Is H1-B the only *main* way to work in the US ?

[ahmadka 0]

Hi guys ... I want to know that is getting a H1-B the only main way of entering the US for work purposes ? Because this is what it seems to me ...

I know about the L-1 visa, which you get if you're in a non-US company which transfers you to their US branch ... Although I am currently in such a company, I doubt I'll get transferred anytime soon, as I'm not that high up the food chain .. :/

Hence why I'm asking what other options I have ..

And if it is the case that H1-B is the only route, then I guess I have to get selected by Microsoft ? .. I say this because they're the main guys who get most of the quote in that 65k limit, as far as I know .. :/

--

A little bit about me:

I'm currently in South East Asia, and did my Bachelors in Computer Engineering from one of the top universities here .. I then did my Masters from Georgia Tech in the US via Fulbright Scholarship (again in Computer Engineering), so my academics are quite strong I think ... I'm in the software development industry, and have been working in my country for the past 1.5 years ..

[carton025 38]

Hi guys ... I want to know that is getting a H1-B the only main way of entering the US for work purposes ? Because this is what it seems to me ...

I know about the L-1 visa, which you get if you're in a non-US company which transfers you to their US branch ... Although I am currently in such a company, I doubt I'll get transferred anytime soon, as I'm not that high up the food chain .. :/

Hence why I'm asking what other options I have ..

And if it is the case that H1-B is the only route, then I guess I have to get selected by Microsoft ? .. I say this because they're the main guys who get most of the quote in that 65k limit, as far as I know .. :/

--

A little bit about me:

I'm currently in South East Asia, and did my Bachelors in Computer Engineering from one of the top universities here .. I then did my Masters from Georgia Tech in the US via Fulbright Scholarship (again in Computer Engineering), so my academics are quite strong I think ... I'm in the software development industry, and have been working in my country for the past 1.5 years ..

Hi, an H1B1 [work] visa petitioned for by yourself is going to be difficult, if not impossible without "friends". Your best effort would be to get a US company to sponsor you.

USA work visas are very very difficult to obtain without a sponsor. Just my educated opinion...

Regards,

Sid

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

I think you are wrong about Microsoft, but yes, the H1B is the main work visa.

[Boiler 45,318]

Most go to Indian outsourcing companies, the stats are out there.

[Harsh_77 718]

Microsoft does not get all or majority portion of H1, Some part does go to outsourcing company but there are many many companies in US that hire and file for H1 visa.

Being in software industry is a + for you and degree from US does certainly help.

[NYCGirl18 1]

Microsoft does not get all or majority portion of H1, Some part does go to outsourcing company but there are many many companies in US that hire and file for H1 visa.

Being in software industry is a + for you and degree from US does certainly help.

I agree, being skilled in the software industry, and having a degree from a US school definitely helps!

I used to work in IT recruiting, and we would sponsor H1-B visas for non-US Citizens all the time if they were the right match for an open position. Do you have any finance experience? And where in the US do you want to live/work? I ask, because in New York City, you would probably have a pretty good chance of getting a finance company (think large banks and financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, American Express, Fidelity Investments, Moody's, JP Morgan, etc.) to sponsor you given your background (from what you say). Do a Google search for US IT recruitment companies and then send your resume in ... couldn't hurt?

[Darnell 8,478]

E5-B visa. Always an option.

[ahmadka 0]

Yeah I know its probably a bit late to post in this thread again, but since I'm still stuck in the same loophole, I thought I should give this another go ..

Most go to Indian outsourcing companies, the stats are out there.

Can you tell me a few names maybe ? Just so I have an idea of kind of companies you're referring to exactly ..

Microsoft does not get all or majority portion of H1, Some part does go to outsourcing company but there are many many companies in US that hire and file for H1 visa.
Being in software industry is a + for you and degree from US does certainly help.

As far as I can tell, Microsoft, along with 1 or 2 other companies, get like the most of the H1B quota. The rest of the companies probably just get like 5~ 20 per year, and getting into that will be virtually impossible I think !

However having said that, can you also point me in the right direction on how to find such companies ? Maybe my research methodology was wrong ..

I agree, being skilled in the software industry, and having a degree from a US school definitely helps!

I used to work in IT recruiting, and we would sponsor H1-B visas for non-US Citizens all the time if they were the right match for an open position. Do you have any finance experience? And where in the US do you want to live/work? I ask, because in New York City, you would probably have a pretty good chance of getting a finance company (think large banks and financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, American Express, Fidelity Investments, Moody's, JP Morgan, etc.) to sponsor you given your background (from what you say). Do a Google search for US IT recruitment companies and then send your resume in ... couldn't hurt?

Unfortunately I don't have any main finance experience ...

But same thing as before .. Do I really stand a decent chance of getting considered without even being in the US ?

[Boiler 45,318]

Tata is No 1, Wipro not that far behind.

[Morningmist 76]

Since you went to Georgia Tech, start at the Alumni association. GTech has a brand name and some companies WILL fly you over to the states to interview you if you are any good and then make an arrangement for you to stay and work here. You are also looking at it wrong. you are thinking visa numbers when you should be thinking, "who wants you badly enough" to apply for H1B. Even if a company only applies for one a year, if it is for the one person they flew all the way from Asia, it doesn't matter how many that company has overall. Don't you have old classmates at GTech who have worked with you? They can refer you to jobs within their companies.

[Harsh_77 718]

As far as I can tell, Microsoft, along with 1 or 2 other companies, get like the most of the H1B quota. The rest of the companies probably just get like 5~ 20 per year, and getting into that will be virtually impossible I think !

However having said that, can you also point me in the right direction on how to find such companies ? Maybe my research methodology was wrong ..

For 2012 Microsoft applied for like 7000 candidates in all each year there are 85,000 application in all, so that should give you where Microsoft is.

Not all of their candidates stay in US out of 7000 some of them are only here on temp basis for a year or two.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Yeah I know its probably a bit late to post in this thread again, but since I'm still stuck in the same loophole, I thought I should give this another go ..

Can you tell me a few names maybe ? Just so I have an idea of kind of companies you're referring to exactly ..

As far as I can tell, Microsoft, along with 1 or 2 other companies, get like the most of the H1B quota. The rest of the companies probably just get like 5~ 20 per year, and getting into that will be virtually impossible I think !

However having said that, can you also point me in the right direction on how to find such companies ? Maybe my research methodology was wrong ..

Unfortunately I don't have any main finance experience ...

But same thing as before .. Do I really stand a decent chance of getting considered without even being in the US ?

I currently work for TCS (TATA - A great company to work for by the way) and have had dealings with Wipro in the past... The people I work with are about half/half H1B/J1.. What I tend to see/hear is that those with a lot of experience are J1.

There are changes coming for the H1B that will probably cause more American companies to go the H1B route and possibly lessen the outsourcing companies H1Bs. Specifically the number of H1Bs are going to go up dramatically - I think initially from 65,000 to around 180,000 a year though they can increase them in batches of 25,000 indefinitely so in effect the H1B will become unlimited.

Next non-American companies will be required to pay yearly fee of 5,000 or 10,000 per visa (the price will go up as the number of people go up).. The idea being sold is that this will push American companies to do the H1Bs themselves as opposed to outsourcing.

So if things go as planned you may have a better opportunity in the near future since the number of jobs offered as H1Bs is going increase almost 3 fold if not more..

Edited June 12, 2013 by OnMyWayID