The downside is that the O-1 is an inferior visa. It may be easier to get an O-1, because you avoid the H-1B lottery, but otherwise the O-1 makes your life hard

The downside is that the O-1 is an inferior visa. It may be easier to get an O-1, because you avoid the H-1B lottery, but otherwise the O-1 makes your life harder. The O-1 is tied to a single employer, just like the H-1B, but the transfer process is harder. After the initial 3-year term, you can only renew it for one year at a time (but you can repeat this indefinitely). Once you reach that phase, you'll be applying for a new visa half the time, and you must plan your life around the process. For example, you may have to decline speaker invitations at a conference, because it's the time of the year you don't have a valid visa stamp in your passport. And if you want a green card, the O-1 again makes your life harder. The final adjustment of status to permanent residency currently takes 1-2 years. If you are on H-1B, you can continue traveling internationally as before. But if you try the same on O-1, your application will be considered abandoned. You will have to apply for advance parole documents, which take months to get. The US immigration system really seems to select for conformity.