I-140 vs H-1B: Clarifying the Real Difference and Its Impact

Many foreign professionals in the United States 🇺🇸 hear two terms again and again in their immigration journey: the H‑1B visa and the I‑140. They sound similar, and they’re often part of the same long story, but they do very different jobs. One keeps you working in the country for a limited time. The other helps open the door to a green card.

Understanding this difference is the key to planning your future, making job choices, and managing your expectations about how long you may stay in the United States.

Temporary Work vs. Permanent Future: The Big Picture

The H‑1B visa is a temporary, non‑immigrant work visa. It lets a U.S. employer hire you in a “specialty occupation” for up to six years, usually granted in three‑year chunks. It is about short‑term permission to work and stay.

The I‑140, officially called the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, is very different. It is an immigrant petition, not a visa, and it is filed by your employer to sponsor you for permanent residency — in other words, for a green card. It does not give you work authorization by itself, and it is not a status. Instead, it is one of the central steps in the employment‑based green card process.

Most foreign workers spend several years in H‑1B status while waiting for their green card process to move forward. During those years, the I‑140 is often the key that either keeps their H‑1B life going or leaves them stuck at the six‑year limit.

Quick comparison: H‑1B vs I‑140

Step 1: Living and Working in the U.S. on an H‑1B Visa

When you first arrive in the United States on an H‑1B visa, your focus is usually on your job, your paycheck, and settling into life in a new country.

From an immigration point of view, several things are happening:

• You hold non‑immigrant status, meaning you are treated as a temporary worker.
• Your employer can employ you in a specific, specialized role.
• Your permission to stay and work generally comes in up to three‑year periods, with a total typical limit of six years.

At this stage, the H‑1B gives you work authorization and a lawful way to stay, but it does not give you any direct right to permanent residence. You can renew your H‑1B within the six‑year window, change H‑1B employers if rules are met, and build your life. However, unless your employer starts a green card process, you are still on a clock.

Importantly, the H‑1B is usually subject to an annual cap and lottery, unless your employer is cap‑exempt. This cap pressure often causes concern about switching employers or re‑entering the lottery in the future.

Step 2: Your Employer Files the I‑140 Immigrant Petition

At some point, many employers decide they want to keep a worker long term. That is where the I‑140 comes in. The employer files Form I‑140 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to say, in effect, “We want this person as a permanent worker.”

In the employment‑based green card process, the I‑140 plays several key roles:

• It is the employer’s formal immigrant petition for you.
• It connects you to a particular employment‑based category.
• It sets or confirms your priority date, which is your place in line for a green card.

Approval of the I‑140 shows that the employer has committed to sponsoring you for a green card. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this approval is often seen by foreign workers as the first major turning point from “temporary worker” toward “future permanent resident.”

USCIS explains more about how employment‑based green card processes work on its permanent workers page.

Step 3: How the I‑140 Affects Your H‑1B Timeline

The moment your I‑140 is approved, your relationship with the H‑1B visa begins to change.

Under normal H‑1B rules, you face a six‑year maximum limit in H‑1B status. But if your I‑140 is approved and your priority date is not yet current, you may qualify for extensions of H‑1B status beyond that six‑year limit. These extensions can be granted in one‑year increments while you wait in the green card line.

In practical terms:

• Without an approved I‑140, many workers hit a hard stop at six years.
• With an approved I‑140 and a waiting priority date, many can keep extending their H‑1B and stay in the country lawfully while they wait.

This is one of the biggest reasons the I‑140 matters so much to H‑1B workers. It doesn’t give work authorization on its own, but it protects and extends the work authorization you already have through the H‑1B.

Step 4: What the I‑140 Does Not Do

Because the I‑140 is so important, it’s easy to imagine it does more than it really does. Important limits to remember:

• No direct work authorization: Approval of the I‑140 by itself does not let you work. Your work authorization continues to come from your H‑1B (or another status) until you actually receive permanent residence.
• No immigration status on its own: The I‑140 is a petition, not a visa and not a status. If your underlying status ends and you don’t have another lawful status, an approved I‑140 alone will not keep you in the country.
• No exemption from the H‑1B cap: Having an approved I‑140 does not exempt you from the H‑1B cap or lottery. If you move from a cap‑exempt employer to a cap‑subject one, or if you try for H‑1B again after a long break, you may still face the cap.

This last point often surprises workers who hope an I‑140 approval will make future H‑1B filings easier. It doesn’t change the cap rules.

Step 5: Job Changes After I‑140 Approval

One hopeful feature of the I‑140 is its role in job portability.

Once your I‑140 has been approved for at least 180 days, you may be able to change employers without losing your place in the green card queue, provided the new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification.

Practical effects:

• You are not always locked into one employer for the entire, often long, green card process.
• You can sometimes pursue better pay, a promotion, or a move to a new company, while keeping your priority date and the progress you already made.

However, portability is not unlimited. The “same or similar occupation” condition matters, and the details can be complex. Still, the basic idea gives many workers more flexibility instead of forcing them to choose between career growth and their green card process.

Step 6: Family Members and the I‑140

The I‑140 is filed for the worker, but its impact is broader. When the green card process moves to the next stage, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can usually take part in the process with you.

Key family‑related effects include:

• Your spouse and eligible children can go through adjustment of status or consular processing alongside you.
• Your spouse can apply for work authorization during the green card process, which can ease financial pressure and give your family more stability.

For many households, this is one of the most emotionally important parts of the I‑140 journey. It turns the process from something about just one worker into a path that can stabilize the whole family.

Step 7: Using H‑1B as a Bridge While I‑140 Is Pending or Approved

Most foreign workers do not move directly from H‑1B entry to a green card. Instead, they maintain H‑1B status while the employer’s green card process moves through different stages.

A typical pattern:

1. You come to the United States and start working in H‑1B status.
2. At some point, your employer files the I‑140 to sponsor you for permanent residency.
3. While the I‑140 is pending or approved, you keep renewing and using your H‑1B as your main work authorization.
4. When your priority date becomes current, you can move to the final step to become a permanent resident.

In this way, the H‑1B visa often works as a bridge, carrying you through several years until you can finally step onto the “solid ground” of a green card. The I‑140 doesn’t replace the H‑1B; instead, it supports and extends it until you reach that final goal.

Key takeaway: The H‑1B is your temporary ticket to work; the I‑140 is your employer’s formal backing for permanent residency. Both are necessary pieces of the employment‑based immigration puzzle, but they serve distinct roles.

Managing Expectations and Planning Your Path

Putting all of this together, think of the journey like this:

• The H‑1B visa is your temporary ticket to work in the United States.
• The I‑140 is your employer’s promise to back you for permanent residency and your formal place in the green card line.
• An approved I‑140 lets you extend H‑1B beyond six years, helps you keep your place in line when changing to a similar job after 180 days, and allows your family to join your permanent residency process.
• At the same time, the I‑140 does not give status or work permission by itself and does not free you from the H‑1B cap.

Understanding these roles helps you:

• Ask smarter questions at work,
• Plan career moves more carefully, and
• Avoid common myths about the process.

It also helps you stay realistic: the process can be long, and there are pieces you can’t control, but knowing what each step does — and does not do — gives you a clearer map for your future in the United States.