<p>The polarization switching process in long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) was numerically modeled based on the previously developed method for describing polarized radiation formation in laser systems. An analysis of the results for the output power, power of polarization modes, and degree of polarization showed that, in this case, there were no fundamental differences from the case of short-wavelength VCSELs that were studied earlier. This allowed a number of general conclusions regarding the mechanisms and dynamics of polarization characteristic formation in VCSELs to be formulated, the main one being the assertion that the polarization switching process in VCSELs is a totally deterministic process transitioning from one limiting polarization to an orthogonal one through a sequence of partially polarized states with a small change in current in the polarization switching region.</p>