The whole immigration system sucks, and especially H1-B, but let's not pretend only some of the players are gaming it. Everyone is.
8 USC 1184(h) allows the H1-B visa holder to be dual intent:
> The fact that an alien is the beneficiary of an application for a preference status filed under section 1154 of this title or has otherwise sought permanent residence in the United States shall not constitute evidence of an intention to abandon a foreign residence for purposes of obtaining a visa as a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (H)(i)(b) or (c), (L), or (V) of section 1101(a)(15) of this title or otherwise obtaining or maintaining the status of a nonimmigrant described in such subparagraph, if the alien had obtained a change of status under section 1258 of this title to a classification as such a nonimmigrant before the alien’s most recent departure from the United States.
It says that the fact that you’ve filed for permanent residency will not be deemed to undermine the non-immigrant intent requires for the H1-B. But the H1-B remains a non-immigrant, temporary visa.
Contrast with say the Canadian skilled worker program, which results in permanent residency at the time of immigration.
H1-B became a trap because of dual-intent.
Someone who always intended to leave the US, as H1-B requires, shouldn't be too bothered that they can't (easily) switch jobs, that a job loss could send them home sooner than anticipated, and they shouldn't have to accept substandard wages or housing or any other body shop abuses we hear about... because they can always just go home, like they'd always intended and should have planned for.
Dual-intent baited people to come here on H1-Bs on the assumption that they'll eventually get permanent residency, bring their family over, attain citizenship. Plenty of people risk their lives to get here with no hope of citizenship; putting up with body shop abuses on a path to citizenship is minor in comparison, a lot like staying at a job you've come to dislike to run out the vesting clock.
And H1-B is such effective bait because the rest of our immigration policy is screwed up and discriminatory.
You would have to have already been on a different visa to have been here in the first place and like nraynaud said, it takes time.
Now, if you're talking about meeting your future spouse in the US, then yes. They would have needed a visa to be in the country in the 1st place.
My original comment was just wondering how a "immigrant marriage visa" would change anything.
Your driver's license will expire with your EAD card, the renewal of your EAD card can't be done more than 90day before expiration, but it takes more than 6 months to get a new one.
You can work 180 days with an expired EAD but not drive nor leave the country, and E-verify will be weird so you might lose your job anyways.
OP clearly says they are not seeking your sympathy. And no, not everyone is gaming it.