GC Agreement with employer

[gcblackmail]

Hi -
With recent developments in Priority Dates Retrogression, I have given up hope. I have signed a GC agreement with my employer in which it states that I have to pay unconditionally $20,000 if leave the company before my 485 is approved. My employer’s role is only to process my pay check and sponsor my GC. Now I have decided to leave USA for good and my employer says that I'm violating the GC agreement and I have to Pay him $20,000. My employer pays me for hours worked 8 weeks ago. This means that 8 weeks pay is held up with my employer. He is using the 8 week pay as collateral.
I'm trying to find out what my rights are.
Do I take him to Labor Court or Immigration court?
Which type of lawyer can handle my case?
I have emails from my employer which support my argument. Will emails be an evidence to prove my employer exploitation?

Your advice will help me in teaching desi employers a good lesson.

[Silverfish]

Isn't such agreement illegal? There is a recent case deciding the agreement between employer and employee regarding returning H1B petition cost is a penalty instead of liquidated damage clause thus illegal, and deducting cost from salary is definitely not allowed.
But how about GC petition? The employer of my friend's company also asked him to sign such an agreement before filing PERM for him. So he is thinking of filing complaint against his employer now.

[anil007dc]

Just tell that Sick, you are going to SUE him... It does not work for him.. Hire a good immigration lawyer like Rajiv.. or some one who can help you... BTW send a legal notice thats it he will be listen to you properly...

[krik]

I would tend to say it's not legal to do that. One more thing with these guys is you need to be confident (i am not saying you are not...please don't get me wrong). But i have seen many cases where the jerks would try to bully the employee. However, if the employee is not so easily bullied, it helps a lot.

I would say, keep backup copies of the emails, just in case. Would not hurt to take print outs too and file it away safely maybe...

Best of luck.

[Silverfish]

When you say it is not legal...do you have any precedence or statute provision in mind?
Bully or not is a moral issue, not a legal one as in this case. Don't assume every employer is a reasonable prudent person who is willing to discuss with employee on equal foot.

[hellobrother]

Instead of wasting time on forum just spend $100 and get a good lawyer in your city and ask him about your line of action. Its that simple, if you are sick you do not ask for medicine from people around you rather you see doctor.
my 2 cents....

[Jackolantern]

Taking as long as 8 weeks to pay you for the work done may also be illegal.

When you talk to your lawyer, mention that and any other questionable practices of the employer. With enough legal ammunition against them, they may end up paying YOU $20,000 to stay out of court and avoid hefty fines from the DOL and USCIS.

[newbies]

Originally Posted by gcblackmail

Hi -
With recent developments in Priority Dates Retrogression, I have given up hope. I have signed a GC agreement with my employer in which it states that I have to pay unconditionally $20,000 if leave the company before my 485 is approved. My employer’s role is only to process my pay check and sponsor my GC. Now I have decided to leave USA for good and my employer says that I'm violating the GC agreement and I have to Pay him $20,000. My employer pays me for hours worked 8 weeks ago. This means that 8 weeks pay is held up with my employer. He is using the 8 week pay as collateral.
I'm trying to find out what my rights are.
Do I take him to Labor Court or Immigration court?
Which type of lawyer can handle my case?
I have emails from my employer which support my argument. Will emails be an evidence to prove my employer exploitation?

Your advice will help me in teaching desi employers a good lesson.

You have to treat this as 2 different cases. DO not put together and talk.

1) You work for your employer the last 8 weeks. You deserve to get pay. So, THEY HAVE TO PAY YOU. THEY ARE NOT ALLOW TO KEEP YOUR MONEY. You can SUE them for that (This is labor law). They will have to pay more than the 8 week of your salary

2) You sign agreement with them about 20K damage. And you break that. They could SUE you to court (small claim court or so) to get that money back. It is depended on the court decision that you should pay all , potion or none of that money. Of course, if you leave the country before court date or not pay the amount the court order, they can put police record on you and you will get arrest whenever you plan to go back to this country again in the future

Hope this help.

[gcno]

Originally Posted by newbies

You have to treat this as 2 different cases. DO not put together and talk.

1) You work for your employer the last 8 weeks. You deserve to get pay. So, THEY HAVE TO PAY YOU. THEY ARE NOT ALLOW TO KEEP YOUR MONEY. You can SUE them for that (This is labor law). They will have to pay more than the 8 week of your salary

2) You sign agreement with them about 20K damage. And you break that. They could SUE you to court (small claim court or so) to get that money back. It is depended on the court decision that you should pay all , potion or none of that money. Of course, if you leave the country before court date or not pay the amount the court order, they can put police record on you and you will get arrest whenever you plan to go back to this country again in the future

Hope this help.

Y'r 1st point is correct. But I am doubtful about y'r second assumption. This is not a criminal investigation to get arrested. They can send the court notice to the employee, but if the employee doesn't sign the summons, the court can do jack. As long as you can avoid taking summons, you are pretty fine.

I already gone through this ordeal. I am telling you from experience. But it is always a good idea to talk to a competent lawyer.

Just don't scare him.

[gcblackmail]

What king of lawyer I should approach...The contract says that it can only be challeged in State of New Jersey. Maybe I should look for a lawyer in NJ.

[newbies]

Originally Posted by gcno

Y'r 1st point is correct. But I am doubtful about y'r second assumption. This is not a criminal investigation to get arrested. They can send the court notice to the employee, but if the employee doesn't sign the summons, the court can do jack. As long as you can avoid taking summons, you are pretty fine.

I already gone through this ordeal. I am telling you from experience. But it is always a good idea to talk to a competent lawyer.

Just don't scare him.

You just assume that the court does not do anything if you don't come to court order Do not play with the law.

And of course, it is depend on the employer. How far he wants to go ? If he continues follow the case after the first few court orders that you try to avoid. They could push to higher level and it will involve the police to force you to court. But, some employers just follow the one or 2 times to scare you. Some might do it serious. In the serious case, you might have to pay a ton (the money you own and all lawyer cost)

The best case is try to work it out outside the court room. Or hope god will be with you.

[gcno]

Originally Posted by newbies

You just assume that the court does not do anything if you don't come to court order Do not play with the law.

And of course, it is depend on the employer. How far he wants to go ? If he continues follow the case after the first few court orders that you try to avoid. They could push to higher level and it will involve the police to force you to court. But, some employers just follow the one or 2 times to scare you. Some might do it serious. In the serious case, you might have to pay a ton (the money you own and all lawyer cost)

The best case is try to work it out outside the court room. Or hope god will be with you.

The court litigation is too expensive especially for an employer(My employer hired an attorney for $300 an hour). As you said it depends on the employer how far he can go. Unless there is some kind of personal animosity. Its ain't worth it. I personally feel the employers use scare tactics. That's all. It's not a good idea to be part of litigation.

The best thing is to resolve it. One thing you should remember, it's very long drawn. If you file the case now, it will take an year.

[gcno]

Originally Posted by gcblackmail

What king of lawyer I should approach...The contract says that it can only be challeged in State of New Jersey. Maybe I should look for a lawyer in NJ.

My company was based in New Jersey. So I filed a lawsuit in NJ, even though I was working a different state. If you are interested I can give you contact. Let me know.

[krik]

Originally Posted by Silverfish

When you say it is not legal...do you have any precedence or statute provision in mind?
Bully or not is a moral issue, not a legal one as in this case. Don't assume every employer is a reasonable prudent person who is willing to discuss with employee on equal foot.

"Don't assume every employer...." ????????

Assume??? You are reading stuff that was never on my post. I never wrote anything pertaining to "assuming every employer is a reasonable prudent person blah blah...". But yes, i have seen couple of cases where an employer (and NO, i am not talking about EVERY employer in the US) would try to intimidate an employee into accepting something. All i said is it helps sometimes if the employee is not easily ruffled.

If you read my post, you would notice I NEVER SAID it was not legal. I said I tend to think it's not legal. Which would imply it to be my personal opinion. And based on the question asked, offered a couple of suggestions which may or may not be useful.

This world would be a much better place if we stopped picking holes in what other's say/write for absolutely no reason.

[krik]

gcblackmail,

i came across this url, may be helpful to you...

http://www.immigrationportal.com/arc...hp/t-8356.html

best of luck

[sk0902]

Originally Posted by gcblackmail

Hi -
With recent developments in Priority Dates Retrogression, I have given up hope. I have signed a GC agreement with my employer in which it states that I have to pay unconditionally $20,000 if leave the company before my 485 is approved. My employer’s role is only to process my pay check and sponsor my GC. Now I have decided to leave USA for good and my employer says that I'm violating the GC agreement and I have to Pay him $20,000. My employer pays me for hours worked 8 weeks ago. This means that 8 weeks pay is held up with my employer. He is using the 8 week pay as collateral.
I'm trying to find out what my rights are.
Do I take him to Labor Court or Immigration court?
Which type of lawyer can handle my case?
I have emails from my employer which support my argument. Will emails be an evidence to prove my employer exploitation?

Your advice will help me in teaching desi employers a good lesson.

Hey gcblackmail,

I am sorry for the situation you are in. Your situation makes my blood boils. Desi companies treat Desis like this.

Few ideas that willl cost you just a phone call.

1. Call Clark Howard between 1.00 PM to 3.30 PM (EST). It is a radio talk show and he give advise on the radio to people like you. He is pretty helpful.
Call him 404-892-8227. http://clarkhoward.com/inside/ask_team_clark.html

2. Go to this site and find out if this can help http://www.handleonthelaw.com/RadioQuestions.aspx

3. Read your contract. Does it say that it will withheld 8 weeks of salary to compensate 20K penalty. If not, then collect the proof that they haven't pay you for last 8weeks. (Boy... you earn 20K in 8weeks, thats pretty good).

4. After you are sure that you are ready to leave the company, just let the f** CEO, f** CFO or whoever is running the company, that you will be making this contract public and publish the company name to public that they are doing this type of practice. You know, just so that they know that you are not spineless and they have more on stake than just 20K.

5. Bring it to somebodies notice anyway (proper govt authority. DOL is the best) so that tomorrow another Desi doesn't have to walk in your shoe.

Please don't do anything in hurry. That may put you in more trouble.
And.. most important, please don't threat anybody in anyway that might sound like you are planning to hurt them.. with email or in words..no matter how mad you are.

Hope everything turns out well for you. Best of luck.

Desclaimer : I am not a lawyer. These are my opinion. Please validate my 2cnts before you act.

[Silverfish]

Originally Posted by krik

"Don't assume every employer...." ????????

Assume??? You are reading stuff that was never on my post. I never wrote anything pertaining to "assuming every employer is a reasonable prudent person blah blah...". But yes, i have seen couple of cases where an employer (and NO, i am not talking about EVERY employer in the US) would try to intimidate an employee into accepting something. All i said is it helps sometimes if the employee is not easily ruffled.

If you read my post, you would notice I NEVER SAID it was not legal. I said I tend to think it's not legal. Which would imply it to be my personal opinion. And based on the question asked, offered a couple of suggestions which may or may not be useful.

This world would be a much better place if we stopped picking holes in what other's say/write for absolutely no reason.

Oh Krik, calm down. I am not picking holes in what you said and if I made you feel like that way, I'm sorry.
Actually I am just mad at those bloody employers. The legal department of my company required me to sign a contract to "repay up to $10K as the expense of applying GC" in case of I "leave the company before or within two years of approval of GC". I believe this is a type of exploitation so firmly denied to sign this contract. And now, I am thinking whether I can do something to make them regret for the ill treatment.

[gcno]

Originally Posted by Silverfish

Actually I am just mad at those bloody employers. The legal department of my company required me to sign a contract to "repay up to $10K as the expense of applying GC" in case of I "leave the company before or within two years of approval of GC". I believe this is a type of exploitation so firmly denied to sign this contract. And now, I am thinking whether I can do something to make them regret for the ill treatment.

What I feel is If a contract is signed under duress will be thrown out in the court. Judges will be always lenient towards employees. One can still getaway even after signing the contract, provided if one can prove employers harassment. It's always a good idea to document everything from day one. Just an opinion

[shibujoys]

Hello GCBlackmail,

Let us know what you did and what can others do.. Many of us are in the same situation....

My wife was working for a company and she was not getting paid.. and so she left the job .. with the company still owing her money.. She didn't have a choice as the owner says he didn't have money. We complained to DOL and USCIS and there is no response from them.

Many times we think of going to court and complaining would help us but most of the time it doesn't and nothing happens...

Good Luck!

[anil007dc]

Good thing you sued him.. he will come to you... this happened to me with my Previous employer... he did't applied for my GC for more than 3 years. He kind of soaked it for 3years... Once I was in critical project, If I leave the project is gone.. I gave him 3 days notice... He kind of scared me with calls and Court Notices for loosing the project... Then in reverse I sued him, he gave me back all the salary and Attorney costs and for 3 years for cheating he ended up paying me huge amount... Dont get down during this time you should be very strong...

[gcblackmail]

Long Story , Short

Did my bit of research. I'm trying to work with him and on the side getting my ducks in a row. The contract I signed is with my employer. I only have a copy of it. If I sue him, he may even say that such a contract was never in play based on his odds of winning the case. First thing first. Get my pay check. I will have to follow-up with him on when he is going to pay. I have given notice to my client that I no longer want to work. So no more billable hours. I will have to wait and see if the pay checks will continue till all billable hours are payed. If not paid, then talk to a attorney to see what case we can make against him. I have everything documented and I can prove that he did not pay for hours I worked. GC contract cannot be challenged until he makes the move. If he makes a move and then I should respond. For now, I have wait and see if my bi weekly pay keeps coming though my project is over.
There are lawyers who specialize in pay check matters. If required the client will get dragged as I performed services to him and I did not get paid. I will keep my head kool and will hope that I get paid for all my hours. I will keep updating any new developments. Thanks a lot for pitching in your ideas. It does help me a lot. I hope I can sort the matters and will be able to leave to my BHARAT very soon .

[cyberbabu]

gcblackmail,

You will be doing a great favor to fellow brothers if you let us know your employer name. How long have you worked for this employer and what is your priority date ? What stage are you in you in your GC...Most of the harassment techniques you have mentioned resemble a NJ company I know of. So, please come out with the name and save others..If we are talking the same thing (same company), then you are ok..my friend was threatened initially and later they let go him.

-Thanks in advance

[gcblackmail]

You are right that my company is based out of NJ. I do not want to disclose my employers name yet. I will at some point in time. The only advice I give you be very carefull in dealing Desi employers. They are criminals of the worst kind.
They are used to lving off other peoples blood. They hire one guy who can speak and write English decently and end of story. The best part is my employer thinks he runs a fortune 500 company.

MY PD: 2003/July
My 485 was filled in 2004/August.

My employer acted oversmart by not filling my EAD. Anyways, I had no intentions to leave the company until my Green Card was approved. Since Priority Dates Retrogressed, I have said to myself that it is time to move on with life instead of bitchng INS. Well my employer does not have the stomach to let go me. He wants me to stay back and make money for him. I'm not a wh..re. Will have to get this straight with my employer.

Anybody knows the procedure to withdraw 485 from INS? If I can withdraw my 485 my problem is solved. GC agreement my employer has becomes useless.

[Jackolantern]

You can file EAD on your own! As long as you have a copy of the I-485 receipt. Your I-485 has been pending much more than 180 days, so you can use it to work for somebody else while you wait. Don't give up so soon. Unless you have a really good job lined up in India.

[gcblackmail]

In my opinion, priority dates retrogression issue will be around for some time. No point in waiting any longer. Changing employer comes with its own set of uncertainities. I do not wish to risk any further. I will consider to return after 1 year and do things right the next time.

For now, I just want to get my employer of my back.

Anybody knows how to withdraw the I-485 APPLICATION. I'm thinking of contacting Murthy to seek advice.

My 140 is approved and 485 pending. My employer will not provide me copy of 485 reciept.

[rocky_cool]

Originally Posted by cyberbabu

gcblackmail,

You will be doing a great favor to fellow brothers if you let us know your employer name. How long have you worked for this employer and what is your priority date ? What stage are you in you in your GC...Most of the harassment techniques you have mentioned resemble a NJ company I know of. So, please come out with the name and save others..If we are talking the same thing (same company), then you are ok..my friend was threatened initially and later they let go him.

-Thanks in advance

Well, I don't know "gcblackmail's" employer but if you want to stay away from such desi companies then here is one of them - A & J Consulting Engineering in Clifton, NJ. I know this guy who just managed to escape from them like 3 months back. Life's a hell there. If you join them you will have a much worse experience with them - not only black mailing but they also abused..........GUYS DO ALL OF US A FAVOR AND SPREAD THE WORD TO ALL YOUR NEAR AND DEAR ONES - A & J CONSULTING IS A MO**** FU***** AS*****. PLEASE STAY AWAY..............

[ShibuGeorge]

You may not have to go that far
File an AC21 and change to some other employer
I dont think the contract that you signed with employer
holds any water

Consult an attorney

Originally Posted by gcblackmail

You are right that my company is based out of NJ. I do not want to disclose my employers name yet. I will at some point in time. The only advice I give you be very carefull in dealing Desi employers. They are criminals of the worst kind.
They are used to lving off other peoples blood. They hire one guy who can speak and write English decently and end of story. The best part is my employer thinks he runs a fortune 500 company.

MY PD: 2003/July
My 485 was filled in 2004/August.

My employer acted oversmart by not filling my EAD. Anyways, I had no intentions to leave the company until my Green Card was approved. Since Priority Dates Retrogressed, I have said to myself that it is time to move on with life instead of bitchng INS. Well my employer does not have the stomach to let go me. He wants me to stay back and make money for him. I'm not a wh..re. Will have to get this straight with my employer.

Anybody knows the procedure to withdraw 485 from INS? If I can withdraw my 485 my problem is solved. GC agreement my employer has becomes useless.