Can we have unpaid vacation while in OPT

P

priyankabhar

New Member
Hi,

I have a question. I am currently working as a Software Developer in my OPT. But I am pregnant and would like to take unpaid vacation for few months. My company is willing to give me unpaid vacation but I am not sure if it is legal or not. I am on my 17 month extension OPT.

Your answers would be very helpful

Thanks a lot!

Priya
 
I know if you take a vacation and leave the country it counts against you. A maternity leave is typically 6 weeks which is well withing the 90/120 days unemployment guideline so that if you follow American women's standards, you have no problem.
 
Thanks for your reply. What if I plan to take 5-6 months unpaid leave from my company? How will the immigration know that I am in leave as long as my company does not report to my university that I have left my job. I will not be leaving my job, but will be taking unpaid leave promissing to join the company back again.

Please let me know your thoughts.
 
First, If you are working for a US company, they are not required to keep your job for you with a leave of this length. If you are in the US, you need to plan your maternity leave by those standards - generally 6 weeks for a normal delivery.

You need to ask your DSO if maternity leave counts towards the 90/120 days of employment. The employer and university are required to report that you are on leave. Don't lie to immigration unless you want big problems down the road.

While you may be planning to return to your job, if you have no other unemployment since April 8, 2008, you may have no more than 90/120 days of "unemployment." You need to determine what counts as such. Unpaid vacation does count; I would expect vacation that is a paid employee benefit does not. Maternity leave may be determined by whether it is paid or unpaid. Not all companies have paid maternity "disability" leave.

You need to really decide how much you want to work in the US. It is not appropriate you a student on OPT to expect special benefits that normal US workers do not have. (By the way, I was a working mother.)
 
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