Comment by alsodumb
2 years ago
Most work visas can be transferred to new companies fairly easily - it's almost trivial. I don't think thats a big deal.
2 years ago
Most work visas can be transferred to new companies fairly easily - it's almost trivial. I don't think thats a big deal.
>it's almost trivial. I don't think thats a big deal.
Somebody downvoted sibling comment from x86x87 but they didn't give a reason.
It seems the concern for it not being trivial is supported by immigration attorneys. An example excerpt from https://banyan.law/how-risky-is-the-h-1b-transfer/ :
>My honest assessment is that before 2016, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend changing jobs upon the filing of the H-1B. USCIS approved almost 100% of legitimate, well-constructed transfer petitions “back then”.
>Now, it’s kind of a mess. H-1B denials have increased by 27%. Requests for Evidence (often feared as a potential denial indicator) are now issued at a 60% clip (a 40% increase).
>So, I’ve changed my tune and so have many others. Many companies are now encouraging employees not to give notice until the H-1B is approved, assuming premium processing is alive. We no longer feel 100% certain that your transfer petition will be approved, and we, therefore, do not want you to bear the suddenly real risks outlined above.
The before and after statistics are apples and oranges. Hard to say that says anything significant at all. And a request for evidence that OpenAI employees are top of the game and that we don't want them leaving the country is trivial. MSFT and Altman team write one response and affix it to all applications.
Transfering? Yes, it's possible. But it's not trivial and, post trump immigration bs, there is a real possibility transfer will not go through. Also usually this takes a few weeks/months.
I read something a few days on another unrelated thread from the AMA [0] with an immigration lawyer who works with YC companies that the administration prioritizing AI-related visas. Based on that, I could see folks making exceptions/expediting the process to stop brain-drain.
Link: [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38207857
Edit - added link
Yeah, that's fine and probably a bit easier to transfer, but it's still not a 100% sure thing and trivial to do.
we are talking about a company worth over two trillion dollars.
i think they can transfer visas quite easy compared to other companies.
H-1B transfer is not trivial, takes time to be approved, and while you can start working at the new position when the application is filed, if its then not approved you can't legally work at the new job anymore and are out of status.
It will be approved. Bureaucracies don't actually like negative PR, and interfering with this would bring the roof down on them.