Don't give up yet on the F1 - H1B route. The H1B issues can depend on when you graduate. 2 years before I graduated H1B visas were not in short supply. Students

Don't give up yet on the F1 - H1B route. The H1B issues can depend on when you graduate. 2 years before I graduated H1B visas were not in short supply. Students graduated and opted to go on OPT first before filing for H1B so they wouldn't have to pay social security tax. The year after that, H1B visa applications were so high they had to do a lottery. This lottery happened for the next 3 years. 2 years after I graduated, the no of H1B applicants dropped back to the normal level that no lottery was required (I read in the papers that lots of foreigners opted to go back home because of the H1B issues and the bad economy). H1B application pool remained at that level for a few years and then went up again last year or the year before that. So in summary, H1B applicant pool can vary from year to year so don't cross it off your list yet