It sounds like the poster is on a B1 or B2 visa which allows 6 months max stay. It's essentially a tourist visa that is issued for up to 10 years with max stay of 6 months and no right to work.
It's highly likely that he will enter a few times with short stays outside the USA and then get denied entry, sent to secondary processing at an airport, questioned and be offered: A) the right to contest his case in court which will mean jail time until his case comes up or B) The option to withdraw his petition to enter the USA and catch the next plane back to his home country. Most people choose B for obvious reasons which leads to you being marched through the airport by security and put on a plane back home.
What I'd very strongly recommend is to not go around offering to work for free. If you do in fact live in a war torn country and have 'lost all your savings', do what many offshore folks do and get a US company to hire you for pay and just work wherever you are and get paid in your home country. Why the "work for free" offer and why the long story? It makes companies nervous. We like to pay people for their good work whether in the USA or outside the country, but legally and above board. You should get paid too.
Just posting a few data points regarding H1B stuff and immigration in general:
Time varies for visa processing and 10 years is not average for most immigrants (as has been mentioned). It took me 6 months from zero to green-card and 3 years from conditional residency (green card) to full citizenship. Not H1B. So it varies according to type of Visa, where you file and your country. Wait times can be found here:
I'm not sure I agree about H1B being indentured servitude. I'd also add that, if your intention is to become a citizen via H1B, make sure you understand how the process works before you even apply for H1B:
It's highly likely that he will enter a few times with short stays outside the USA and then get denied entry, sent to secondary processing at an airport, questioned and be offered: A) the right to contest his case in court which will mean jail time until his case comes up or B) The option to withdraw his petition to enter the USA and catch the next plane back to his home country. Most people choose B for obvious reasons which leads to you being marched through the airport by security and put on a plane back home.
What I'd very strongly recommend is to not go around offering to work for free. If you do in fact live in a war torn country and have 'lost all your savings', do what many offshore folks do and get a US company to hire you for pay and just work wherever you are and get paid in your home country. Why the "work for free" offer and why the long story? It makes companies nervous. We like to pay people for their good work whether in the USA or outside the country, but legally and above board. You should get paid too.
Just posting a few data points regarding H1B stuff and immigration in general:
Time varies for visa processing and 10 years is not average for most immigrants (as has been mentioned). It took me 6 months from zero to green-card and 3 years from conditional residency (green card) to full citizenship. Not H1B. So it varies according to type of Visa, where you file and your country. Wait times can be found here:
https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do
Microsoft brings in H1B's at a rate of 2000 to 4000 people per year into the Redmond area.
http://visadoor.com/companies/microsoft-corporation
Google about the same numbers, mostly into Mountain View:
http://visadoor.com/companies/google-inc
I'm not sure I agree about H1B being indentured servitude. I'd also add that, if your intention is to become a citizen via H1B, make sure you understand how the process works before you even apply for H1B:
http://www.quora.com/How-do-I-get-US-citizenship-with-H1B-vi...