World Journal Weekly Q & A - September 14, 2008
Q & A 1.
Q&A 1.
H-1B Holder Just Fired - What Can I Do?
I went home for three weeks and came back two weeks ago. My boss
just told me he was dismissing me because there was no work. My
last paycheck will be tomorrow. I am on an H-1B visa, so what can
I do? How much time do I have? What are my options? I just talked
to a small company that said that they would be willing to sponsor
me so that they could send me as a consultant to another company,
but said that I would have to pay $2,500 for my H-1B transfer and
a penalty of $15,000 if I left them before one year. Is this reasonable?
Dear reader:
Your choices appear to be going back to school to study, leaving
the U.S., staying illegally, or finding a position with another
organization that can sponsor you for a working nonimmigrant visa.
Other possible types of non immigrant visas for work include O-1
if you are distinguished in the arts or extraordinary in the sciences,
H-3 trainee if an organization wishes to train you and send you
overseas at the end of the training, or E-1/E-2 if you are a manager
or worker with specialized knowledge for an organization having
the same nationality as yours so long as your country has a treaty
of navigation and commerce with the U.S., etc. If you still wish
H-1B status, you can try to find an organization which is willing
to sponsor the transfer. Is it reasonable for the small company
to ask you to pay $2,500 for the H-1B transfer? It may be reasonable
if it covers attorneys fees. An organization is only obligated to
pay the job training fee portion for H-1B processing. The $15,000
penalty, however, sounds exorbitant and probably not enforceable
in a court of law. Insofar as timing is concerned, U.S.C.I.S. has
recently signaled that it is willing to give more latitude for cases
in which H-1B holders have been abruptly dismissed if they show
that they are making a good-faith effort to find new employment.
This means that, although H-1B holders are not given a grace period
when their work terminates, U.S.C.I.S. will most likely grant transfers
of status inside the United States so long as the period of time
to find new employment is not overly long and they are able to show
immediate good faith efforts to find a new position.
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