Sophie_Alcorn

Yes, we need systemic legal change. But at least in the short term there are at least some options for those who need them.

I tried to cover it all but sometimes TechCrunch edits the headline. Thanks for reading!

Hahaha

Usually, yes!

Yes, your interpretation of my article is correct!

That is generally true, except perhaps in the first couple years of having your green card if you got it through employment. It could come up in a citizenship application if you didn't work at the sponsoring company long enough.

Yes, that is the solution I recommended in the article, because a lot of people are worried that the 60 day grace period won't be enough if they are laid off from their current H-1B employer.

I know a lot of immigrants who can get an offer for concurrent employment for 5-10 hours a week at smaller companies that don't make as many headlines as a company like Coinbase.

It's a lot cheaper to get qualified for an O-1A or EB-1A than an EB-5 if you're just comparing financial investment.

The system is super broken. If you're from India or China and on H-1B and just starting out, do whatever your employer is willing to sponsor you for to get a green card, but your fastest path is probably to figure out how to qualify through only legal employment activities to get an O-1A and then an EB-1A.

Also the EB-2 NIW, see my other comment in this thread!

The backlogs do exist, they're based on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and they are for green cards specifically. In the employment-based immigrant visa categories, they specifically apply to people from India and China.

Yes, this is correct. Some employers are even willing to start the green card process before the H-1B is even selected in the lottery. But whether that's a good idea depends on the specifics of each employee's travel plans and current immigration status.

Yes this is correct.

H-1B holders can seek green cards through a variety of ways: green card lottery (for certain countries), family sponsorship (such as marriage green cards), and employment sponsorship (the EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5 categories.)

Within the EB's, most companies will sponsor H-1B holders for green cards in the EB-2 or EB-3 categories in a 3-step process: PERM, I-140, I-485.

If an H-1B holder wants to get a green card based on work/accomplishments as a self-petitioner, the two main pathways are:

Eb-1A for extraordinary ability, helpful for people subject to long India/China backlogs

Eb-2 NIW, easier than O-1A, takes 2-3 years if you're not subject to India/China backlogs.