throwaway11221

Indeed. There are ways to get USCIS to grant you a few days, but again, nothing is certain. Living as a legal immigrant isn't as stressful as being an illegal one - but it's not too far off.

My job is fairly secure, but who knows, right? I have a range of worst-case-scenario strategies, including how to quickly sell everything I have and move to Canada (which is far more welcoming of highly skilled people - I qualify).

I wish I didn't have to think of all this though. I shouldn't have to. I do everything according to the letter of the law, work hard, pay my taxes. None of that matters. Lose my job - and bye-bye life in the US.

I know people who don't make as much as I do and aren't getting job offers. They are even worse off and often complain of feeling like slaves to their employers. My company doesn't treat me any different to a US citizen - but smaller companies routinely abuse their H1 workers, because they know they have them over a barrel.

Yes, I have checked. I don't think I do. O visas require clear proof of exceptional ability - and in my field, I'd have to show multiple international publications, awards won, a SJD, etc.

O visas are easy to get if you're an author, celebrity, renowned professor, and so on.

I'm not in that category. I have publications in international journals and corporate awards - but an O visa would be a stretch.

It's easier for me to leave the US for a year, and come back and reapply under the EB1 classification, and this is something that I am seriously considering. It depends on what new rules the USCIS makes this year - and also on the outcome of the upcoming Presidential election.

In theory, yes. You can switch jobs, but you have to reapply for a new PERM with the details of the new job, and your previous priority date.

However, if USCIS decides to deny the new PERM, or ask for additional evidence, or who knows what else - you could lose your spot AND lose your ability to work and have to leave immediately. There are many things that could go wrong - the lawyers could screw up, Congress might change the rules, your new company might decide to withdraw the I-140.

It's a risk, and the question is your willingness to take that risk. If I get offered a job where I'm getting paid more that $220K, I might take that risk. Below that, it's simply not worth it for me. And I'm not alone in this.

It's still hard. I'm an H1B worker.

I came to the US for my MBA (from a good school), graduated in the top 2% of my class with a 3.94 GPA. I got a job with a Fortune 150 company. My starting salary was 94K, and now I make more than 150K. All this happened in the last 4 years.

I am not "cheap labor" and I don't work in IT. I am highly skilled (I'm a lawyer with an MBA - it's not all that common). I have an approved green card application.

But - I'm from India, and there's a LONG line of people ahead of me waiting for green cards. It will take 5-7 years to get a green card. In the meanwhile, I have received job offers where I would get paid more - nearly 200K in one instance. But I'm unwilling to take those offers because it would mean restarting the green card process. There are ways to keep your spot in line, but they aren't foolproof, and for me, it's easier to stay with this company and hold onto my spot rather than take a higher paying job.

So yes, even for people highly skilled and in demand, it's not easy to switch jobs. There are many factors that you have to look at, and it's stressful knowing that if you lose your job, you have days to find a new job - or else give up your life in the US and leave. I have been here for years, I have a house, cars, friends.. you can't easily just leave everything behind.

The US needs to work on this issue. I agree that people shouldn't be losing their jobs to cheaper labor, but at the same time, what about highly skilled immigrants who want to contribute to the US economy and build a life here? The sword of Damocles hangs over our heads - lose your job and you have 10 days to find a new one, or get out. Doesn't matter if you've been here 10 years and have done everything you possibly could to be a good citizen.