These days an H1B is the first step towards getting a green card, which in turn is the step towards citizenship
I actually got my H1B at my 2nd try. I did not get pick at my 1st try and had to wait until next year but it went quite smoothly. However for my GC, it took 4 years between the initial conversation with my employer and getting it in my hands. The actual process itself, from the moment the lawyers received all the documents, took 2 years.
I used to work with someone whose visa was about to expire so the company just filed a GC to keep her.
That being said, I feel like these things change all the time. When people describe the current H1B process it always seems completely different from the one I went through.
And those documents can anyway only be applied if already in the country, and once your I-485 is current and I-140 is approved, which for Indians/Chinese/Filipinos means a >10 year wait, and for everyone else means a >1 year wait while PWD, PERM and I-140 process. Large companies can shorten the PWD/PERM wait a bit, but that does little for the backlogged countries and those not already inside the US.
There is no _realistic_ employment based path to a greencard that does not go through a non-immigrant visa.
Also, the work permit processing times have been extremely backlogged over the past year. It is getting better, but I have personally seen a greencard arrive after about a year recently, and the corresponding work permit arrive a week _later_ (useless, by then).
And if you look at large scale statistics available in immigrant communities, you can see approvals are all over the place, with no rhyme or reasons - some people get it in months, for some it takes years. There is no predictability.
Filed I-485 in 2020. Still pending. It's currently way more than one year. Some 2022 filers are getting it in a matter of months, but older applications are taking forever.
> The work permit (I-765) does not allow you to enter the US, only to work when already legally in the country (for example, via an H-1B).
H1B allows one to work, by itself. If you get a I-765(aka EAD) and you use that, you immediately lose your H1B status. Which is fine as long as your application is pending. If your I-485 subsequently gets denied, you have to leave and you just lost your shot. Game over. You have to start again from scratch. Assuming you didn't incur in too much unauthorized stay, as you'll get hit with retroactive unauthorized stay.
Most H1B holders do not use their EAD because of that. Note that it's different from the EAD you get as a L2 (spouse of L1). That one doesn't mess with your status. Unless you get EAD pursuant to your green card application. That one messes with your status.
Same with advance parole. H and L visas don't need that to travel.
You can get your H1B status back if you file for an extension.
It's kind of like hanging out in a fancy restaurant's bar in hopes that they'll be able to get you a table.
If it was strictly a non-immigrant visa, then you cannot get a green card. Ever. You need some other type of visa that's either an immigrant visa(like marriage) or some other dual-intent visa.
That's one thing that many americans don't understand. "He's lived in the US for 50 years, why didn't he become a citizen?!" Because, for most people, they have no path.
I have observed that this misunderstanding is widespread, for what it’s worth. Dual intent merely means intending to immigrate isn’t a disqualification, but that still requires getting some sort of additional immigrant visa.
It is a bit of a pain point because it is sometimes used in discussions by people who are against immigration to suggest that "those people" on H-1B's/L-1's should not immigrate, should not expect to immigrate, and should have known better because they "are on a non-immigrant visa" and should have simply chosen a different path. Nevermind that this _is_ more or less the only realistic way to do employment based immigration, and by far the most common one. One might consider it a bit of an anti-immigrant dog whistle. (I am not accusing you of this, just explaining why you may have gotten that reaction.)
It is, however, entirely incorrect to say that immigrating _requires_ an immigrant visa. There are two ways of becoming an immigrant:
1. From outside the US, by applying for an immigrant visa at a consulate, and then presenting the immigrant visa at a port of entry. The officer may then admit the alien in the LPR (lawful permanent resident) status.
2. From inside the US, by petitioning USCIS to adjust the status to that of an LPR. There is no immigrant visa in this case.
In general, a visa is used to legally enter the country, and status is used to legally be in the country. They are entirely separate, with different expiration dates, physically separate stamps/stickers and all (see https://www.google.com/search?q=visa+stamp+and+admission+sta...). For example, a person can present an H-1B visa (a sticker in the passport, plus a stack of paper) at a port of entry, then be admitted in H-1B status (and usually get a stamp over the sticker at that time). However, while using a visa is one way to gain a status, it is not the only way. And visa do not correspond 1:1 to statuses.
The two different ways to become an LPR are very different in terms of process, which agency to petition, processing time, availability, conditions while waiting, options if denied, cost etc. So those really cannot be mixed up.
And so, yes, one can immigrate with only a non-immigrant visa such as an H-1B. That is an officially supported function of the system. And for employment based immigration, that is the normal way to do it. Therefore the more descriptive name "dual-intent visa" is rather useful in the context of employment based immigration, even though the proper classification is "non-immigrant visa". Whereas even if it is formally a "non-immigrant visa", it can be useful to say that in practice it is not really a "non-immigrant visa" but a "dual-intent visa".