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Comment by darth_avocado | Hacker News Reader

That is actually not true. SOME H1B labor isn't mobile (mostly people outsourcing firms), but people on H1B change jobs whenever they like. At least that's the norm in tech industry.

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That's not at all true. People on H1B cannot change jobs easily. They have to go through the visa transfer process and hope nothing goes wrong with the process. They have to make sure their current employer does not get wind of the job change and doesn't fire them during the transfer process. They have to ensure that the new employer can process their green card application. Lots of nuances involved. It's a serious source of stress for a lot of highly skilled H1B engineers

There is no such thing as visa transfer process. When you’re switching jobs on an H1B you follow the same process as if it were a new application, with the exception it can be done any time in the year and the visa cap doesn’t apply.

I meant to say H1B transfer process. Previously, it used to be straightforward but the Trump administration started treating them as new applications and doled out RFEs (Request for Evidence) willy-nilly. The current administration has scrapped that but it's still a laborious, nerve-wracking process.

Oh I got that you meant H1B transfer. But the thing is that it was never a transfer, it was just a new application. I did it in 2011 and it was exactly the same process (I got no RFEs but a friend that got an RFE in his first application got another one when doing his second). It was indeed harder during Trump’s administration, and I even know a person that got his second application denied and couldn’t change jobs.

That is because you call it H1B transfer, but in reality it is a new application for a new job position, just that you can do it any time and not wait for the lottery. RFEs are part of the process, if your supporting documents don't establish that you have the qualifications for the new role, you need to provide supporting evidence. It has always existed, regardless of any administration.

Also, because it is a new application, your old one does not expire, so you can always continue your current job till you sort things out. And you can always file a third application with a third employer if things don't work out with your RFE. Changing jobs isn't as crazy as people make it out to be, unless you really don't meet the minimum.

PS: Been doing it for more than a decade without any problems

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