That is correct - if you are trying to get to US via H1B (though, there are other types of Visa - of course - H1B being most popular), then there's little the company can do about the annual limits. You'd have to wait and file the petition when the slots open up (for a day or two each year) - which is something that game companies do not really have to do, since there's an overflow of applicants into the gamedev grinder anyway.

I should have been a bit more specific. It's much easier to get transferred to US as a SW engineer outside of game industry.

After all, why should the company even bother with the whole Visa process, if there's an overabundance of local candidates willing to work for peanuts (or less) ?

Now, if they identified the exact match for some senior candidate, and they have a process in place to handle the paperwork AND they know they can wait 3-5 months till the interviews at US embassy take place, passports get stamped (and so on, and so forth) - Yes - it can happen.

But, I don't really think it's a very probably scenario, since here in US, there's a gamedev layoff every few weeks anyway - so there's lots of senior candidates ready to start working right away. Plus, the job mobility is an order of magnitude higher here (than in most parts of Europe). If you get through the phone IW on Monday and they tell you to come for onsite IW on Tuesday, you just jump on the plane and go...

Just to clarify - Bosnia isn't, and with the trends being as they are, never will be part of the EU, at least not in my life time. However, what I do know is that no matter where you come from, no one will reject you if you have money. Point being, I am currently working on establishing my own game development studio in Sarajevo... my country of residence doesn't really matter when online distribution is concerned. Wish me luck...

Just to clarify - Bosnia isn't, and with the trends being as they are, never will be part of the EU, at least not in my life time. However, what I do know is that no matter where you come from, no one will reject you if you have money. Point being, I am currently working on establishing my own game development studio in Sarajevo... my country of residence doesn't really matter when online distribution is concerned. Wish me luck...

Well, that's not entirely true either. I can still very clearly remember, about ~6-7 yrs ago, when I created my first shareware game and started signing up with the online merchants, how Slovakia (my country of origin) was on the "Red Menace" list - e.g. countries where majority of merchants declined you stating it is too much risk. Meaning, I could not even sign up for an account with the online payment processors.

Paypal / Xbox Live / PSN ? Same thing.

I don't know if that has changed in the meantime - and frankly don't care, since I live in US now, but I do know that that list contained all post-communistic countries.

Just because you're part of physical Europe does not really mean you actually are a part of online Europe...

So, unfortunately, it may still matter where the money comes from...

I do believe, though, that it may finally change in next few decades (say - around ~2050)

I don't know if that has changed in the meantime

It's the complete opposite now. To top it off, Slovakia has one of the fastest growing economies in the EU.

I don't know if that has changed in the meantime

It's the complete opposite now. To top it off, Slovakia has one of the fastest growing economies in the EU.

Really ? Because I could swear I saw multiple threads (on Slovak game pages) this week where people were complaining about STILL not being able to sign up to XBLA / PSN using their Slovak address and how the situation with PS3 / XB360 repeats with PS4/XBONE

And for the love of God, please do not bring up the decade-old argument of a macroeconomic "boost". Those virtual numbers only reflect the wealth of select few individuals there, and do not [in any way] reflect the well-being of 95% of population there. Sure, the MMF (Money MaFia) will praise that, since the banks get the upper hand (as they have been always) over whole country...

Incidentally, those ~7 yrs ago, we were also riding the top of the growth wave, yet - somehow - still on the "Red Menace" list for CC-companies

I will never forget how even paying for shareware games was plenty times impossible, since the credit card originated from the country on that list and was automatically declined.

Only OP can confirm if the situation is similar on Bosna, but this just goes to show, that money does not really always talk....

I can sign up for most services in Bosnia, Paypal works, PSN works, but that's about the extent of what I've tried.