An H1-B holder is free to leave their employer at anytime and move company, providing that new company agree to file the change with USCIS --------------------

An H1-B holder is free to leave their employer at anytime and move company, providing that new company agree to file the change with USCIS ------------------------------ I think you oversimplify ... that company has to pay about $1.5 - 3k just to file for that transfer ... and you bet they factor it in in salary negotiations, sometimes in unfair ways. They also have to think about the fact that they have to do it again in 3 years, then theres fact that if they decide to invest in you for longer than 6 years they have to pay even more money to get you a green card. A lot of companies (smaller firms, almost all startups) will not touch H1b's with a ten foot pole ... so when a h1b applicant gets a gig, they tend to not cause ripples unless they absolutely have to, and that includes being slightly underpaid. Long story short ... its not easy.