Could a friend hire him for their company for a fictitious salary or something like that to keep their immigration clock going?
Please no one do this.
It won’t help, won’t work, and you’ll both regret it big time.
Some people tried this stuff with their llc’s in 2008 oil crash, lot of h1b’s and E2’s all employer tied.
I testified at several of the hearings.
the paper work for getting a H1b or any immigration visa is like 100+ pages at minimum.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/two-santa-clara-county-...
just one of the many example.