Severance??

[Takemehome]

My employer (Fortune 500) messed up my LC. (That's a long story..)

My 6 years of H1 is expiring in a month. So i was notified that i would be terminated when my visa expires.

My employer has a published severance policy for employees who are fired.

But, HR is saying that it's not applicable to me.

My view is that i'm being terminated so i should be eligible for severance.

Do i have any chance legally? Anyone has had similar experience??

Another question: The employer promises to hire me again. Their attorney says after PERM becomes law around oct '04, i can come back by Dec 2004, if my new LC under PERM is cleared. Is this possible?

Or will i be forced to stay out for a year?

Do i come under H1 quota, if i try to come back in June 2005, sponsored by any employer. ( I was told that anyone who had a H1 visa in the past do not come under quota ?? )

Can i apply in Nov 2004 for a H1 visa and go for stamping in June 2005. Or is that i can only apply for new H1 after being out of the country for 365 days??

Thanks in Advance

[abeisty]

I am in exactly the same position as you. The bank I worked for terminated me on 3rd January as my H1B visa had expired. I had worked for them for 6 years and they relocated me from London, UK to Charlotte, NC. I received no severance either. This seems crazy to me as they had told me that they would get me a Greencard and then went back on their word and wouldn't provide me with one. The bank pay their employees severance provided they are not fired for misconduct. I know of two persons who were recently displaced and then terminated and they recieved 8 months severance. I am going to the Equal Employment Opportunities commission tomorrow to tell them what has happened to me as although by NC law, the bank doesn't have to pay me severance, I feel I am being treated differently because I am foreign. I am so angry at the way I have been treated. I bought a home here and everything which I haven't been able to sell so I now have to rent it and get working asap so that I can pay the mortagage from England!!! Also, it is possible to file for unemployment benefits with ESC but they won't release any funds until the persons employment status changes such that they can lawfully work. I see that you sent this a while back, what happend for you in the end?