Our H-1B worker readers are probably familiar with employers recruiting foreign workers holding OPT/CPT as an alternative to H-1B employment.  Some employers do this to avoid the restrictions that come with H-1B visas, such as having to pay the required wage to H-1B workers at all times, even while between work projects or on the [...]

The run on H-1Bs using up the allotment for new visas for this year has left many scrambling for an alternative authorization to live and work in the United States until more H-1Bs become available again next year. In this article, we discuss alternatives to the H-1B visa for those who cannot apply for an [...]

H-1B workers who are benched or underpaid not only feel financially exploited, they may also feel emotionally exploited, especially if they have an employer whose main motivation tactic is to threaten to revoke your visa. Understandably, H-1B workers who feel exploited and unappreciated will want to quit their job, and may do so in the [...]

Due to a new requirement by at least one U.S. consulate in India, H-1B employees now face a new risk of a permanent bar from the United States for unlawful actions by their H-1B employers. The U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad, as shown in a document obtained by AILA, is now requiring H-1B employees who will be [...]

In the wake of Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) settlement agreement involving H-1B wage violations, questions have been raised about the unfair effect this is having on the victims, the teachers who will be forced to leave their jobs and the United States once their H-1B time runs out. As part of the [...]

H-1B employees who have been benched without pay or underpaid often are reluctant to complain against their employers because they fear they will be fired and lose their immigration status. This fear is understandable, but exaggerated. This article will explain why complaining can actually help preserve your status in the United States. The Relationship Between [...]

We hear from many H-1B holders who have been benched or underpaid, but who think it’s best if they first find a new job, return to school, or obtain some other status to enable them to stay in the United States before they complain about their H-1B employer who underpaid them or violated the law. The reality [...]

We see the same cycle with some H-1B employers: (1) they bench an H-1B worker without pay; (2) the worker understandably wants to transfer to a new employer who pays him; and (3) the benching employer offers the worker fake paystubs, to “help” the worker transfer. If YOU find yourself in this situation, do NOT [...]

Image by mirsasha via Flickr Question 1: I’m an H-1B employee and I have benched without pay, but I have found a new employer. I have no pay stubs. Can I “transfer” without leaving the U.S.? Question 2: I’m an H-1B employee and I was benched without pay, but when I complained, my employer fired [...]