Chances of getting a work visa

[Label 0]

Hi,

Out of curiosity regarding my future, I'm asking the following hypothetical question:

I work as a programmer and have 5+ years of experience with varying technologies, especially Java. I have a bachelor's degree in computer sciences, in which I specialized in programming.

If I was to get a job offer from a company in let's say California and the company was ready to help me with the visa, what would my chances be of getting it? As to my understanding, the degree itself already helps quite a bit and the field I work in. So it should be a pretty clear case, as the company would be helping me with the visa and I'd have a job waiting in the country, am I correct? If this is the case, roughly what kind of waiting times would I be looking at?

Thank you for any answers in advance!

Edited October 11, 2016 by Label

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You qualify for the H1B, so if you find a job that wants to sponsor it, chances are decent if they know what they are doing. That visa works like a lottery as far as I understand but I know people that have gotten it seemingly easily. This is all something for the company's lawyer to set up.

[KierenHby 899]

Have to get into the H1b lottery with a 65k annual cap.. there's a draw around April and the job begins October 1.

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

Agree with the others, your chances would be pretty good.

Your other option would be to go to work for an international tech company like Google or Microsoft at home, and then try for an internal transfer visa.

[controlla 104]

A lot of US employers are currently not willing to file H1B visas and this will continue unless there is a major H1B reform. Also, note that there are thousands of US international students who graduate every year and seek jobs with H1B sponsorship. It's not as easy as it sounds. Many have already built professional networks over the course of their education to increase their chances. If you do find an tech employer who's willing to sponsor you, your chances of being selected in the H1B lottery is about 25% since you only have a bachelors degree and/or hold a bachelors or advanced degree from a non-US university.

You'll need to find about four to five different employers to concurrently file to stand a realistic chance of securing an H1B visa in a given year...or have the same company file for you for three to four consecutive years...or just be extremely lucky with one employer.