I don't know much about the details of H1Bs or implications. But when I was working in the United States (2005 to 2007) I was holding a J1 then "upgraded" to an H1B.
To move to the United States the J1 is the best, in my opinion : nearly no taxes, affordable (~$1,000). But it's limited to 18 months, once in your life.
As for H1B, two problems (for startups) :
- you need a lawyer, and it's a bit expensive. Count at least k$2~3 in legals.
- you need to pay a decent wage. For a software engineer I don't think you can go anywhere below $5,400 a month (it depends on the state, that's in NY...). Anyway it's nowhere in the "surviving on ramen" ballpark.
You have around 1 month to find a new job, or you go back home.
This is often cited as the main reason why H1B holders can't negociate wages as high as permanent residents, and end up being paid much less : they can't quit easily without taking quite huge risks, and their bosses knows it...
Same here. Unless you're really lucky and find a startup willing to sponsor you, your best bet is probably to do the H-visa thing at a big company until you can get a Green Card. Then you're free to have some fun, as long as you don't stay out of the country for longer than half a year.
That's the route my folks took, though from Germany, so it might be different for you (with per-country quotas and whatnot).
Comments
I've only heard of mid to large sized companies sponsoring H1Bs, but startups rarely. Maybe they don't have time for the red tape?
I don't know much about the details of H1Bs or implications. But when I was working in the United States (2005 to 2007) I was holding a J1 then "upgraded" to an H1B.
To move to the United States the J1 is the best, in my opinion : nearly no taxes, affordable (~$1,000). But it's limited to 18 months, once in your life.
As for H1B, two problems (for startups) :
- you need a lawyer, and it's a bit expensive. Count at least k$2~3 in legals.
- you need to pay a decent wage. For a software engineer I don't think you can go anywhere below $5,400 a month (it depends on the state, that's in NY...). Anyway it's nowhere in the "surviving on ramen" ballpark.
What happens if you are working for a startup on an H1B and it goes out of business?
You have around 1 month to find a new job, or you go back home.
This is often cited as the main reason why H1B holders can't negociate wages as high as permanent residents, and end up being paid much less : they can't quit easily without taking quite huge risks, and their bosses knows it...
Same here. Unless you're really lucky and find a startup willing to sponsor you, your best bet is probably to do the H-visa thing at a big company until you can get a Green Card. Then you're free to have some fun, as long as you don't stay out of the country for longer than half a year.
That's the route my folks took, though from Germany, so it might be different for you (with per-country quotas and whatnot).