Defences against reimbursment of green card process fees with Employer

M

mitab

New Member
Hello.

not sure if this is the right forum for this question. but I think its related to retrogression.

I worked for an employer from 2000 - 2006 ,(6 years) they started processing my greencard after i signed an agreement to work for them for 3 years after the greencard process was complete or reimburse them the greencard process expenses.

I left the employer before greencard was complete using AC21 portability since the company was in the process of layoffs and I feared loosing my job and the morale was very low and several other reasons beyond my conntrol.

I cannot afford expensive attorneys to fight this lawsuit . Would appreciate it if I can get some feedback from viewers regarding defences to this type of unfair illegal agreements signed between Empolyers and Employees.

Thanks in advance.
 
Yes KMax , understandable. thanks for your feedback . I am looking more for answers about the DOL proposed law published in the Federal Registrar.

Prohibition of the sale, barter, or purchase of permanent labor certification applications, as well as other related payments. In addition to prohibiting employers from receiving payment of any kind from any source for filing a permanent labor certification application, the rule would prohibit the employee from paying, directly or indirectly, any of the attorney's fees and costs related to preparing, filing, or obtaining permanent labor certification.


Did it get implemented?
 
KMax said:
No defenses. You signed the contract, you broke it, you have to pay.
Click to expand...
Not so simple.

First, some of the fees involved with the green card are to be paid purely by the employer and cannot be paid or reimbursed by the employee. Second, courts do not look favorably on employers that try to bond employees for long periods of time, especially in cases like this where it is an indefinite period (x years after the green card, which is an unknown), and the employer was not also guaranteeing employment for the same period.

However, it still boils down to what the labor laws are in your state and the exact details of the contract. If the company has actually contacted you about paying them back, you better see a lawyer and stop relying on anonymous message boards.
 
If the work was through a body shopper, you have a better chance to show that you did bring enough revenue for the company during the period of employment and that your leaving was tied out to the fear of the company layoffs. The 3year time period is too onerous and may not hold well in court. In any case you have to get a lawyer. Get a reputed lawyer rather than a cheap lawyer to fight this case or just pay up what is claimed. Your company will likely settle with you outside court since they stand to loose a lot of their name with other candidates/INS than you.


mitab said:
Hello.

not sure if this is the right forum for this question. but I think its related to retrogression.

I worked for an employer from 2000 - 2006 ,(6 years) they started processing my greencard after i signed an agreement to work for them for 3 years after the greencard process was complete or reimburse them the greencard process expenses.

I left the employer before greencard was complete using AC21 portability since the company was in the process of layoffs and I feared loosing my job and the morale was very low and several other reasons beyond my conntrol.

I cannot afford expensive attorneys to fight this lawsuit . Would appreciate it if I can get some feedback from viewers regarding defences to this type of unfair illegal agreements signed between Empolyers and Employees.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
nyc8300 said:
The 3year time period is too onerous and may not hold well in court.
Click to expand...
Especially since it is not just 3 years, but 3 years after the green card and nobody knows when the green card will come.

In any case you have to get a lawyer. Get a reputed lawyer rather than a cheap lawyer to fight this case or just pay up what is claimed. Your company will likely settle with you outside court since they stand to loose a lot of their name with other candidates/INS than you.
Click to expand...
Even if you do decide to pay up, get a lawyer on your side who can (1) negotiate the settlement down to a more reasonable level (out-of-court settlements are almost always less than what the lawsuit asked for), and (2) work out the settlement agreement in a way that protects you from being sued in the future. Otherwise if you simply write them a check you could find them coming after you again for more money.

You say you cannot afford an attorney ... we are saying you cannot afford NOT to have an attorney. You don't necessarily need a lot of money. Some will take the case on contingency, seeking to recover fees from the other side if you win. And some will give you an initial consultation for $100 or less so you can get an idea of your position. Maybe after seeing the details of your case and evaluating it based on state law, the lawyer will charge you a small amount to send a letter to the company, and the letter from your lawyer may be enough to get the company to shut up.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
mitab said:
Hello.

not sure if this is the right forum for this question. but I think its related to retrogression.

I worked for an employer from 2000 - 2006 ,(6 years) they started processing my greencard after i signed an agreement to work for them for 3 years after the greencard process was complete or reimburse them the greencard process expenses.

I left the employer before greencard was complete using AC21 portability since the company was in the process of layoffs and I feared loosing my job and the morale was very low and several other reasons beyond my conntrol.

I cannot afford expensive attorneys to fight this lawsuit . Would appreciate it if I can get some feedback from viewers regarding defences to this type of unfair illegal agreements signed between Empolyers and Employees.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Why do you call this as unfair illegal agreements , it was a contract which you signed based on your own will (without any enforcement).

May be I did not understand something, but if exact wording was to work for them for 3 years after the greencard process was complete or reimburse them the greencard process expenses I do not see any violation because the green card process is not completed yet.

What if you tell them not to stop green card process because you have plans to return to them and complete those 3 years of fair employment when the green card is done ?

From my point of view if they file law suit against you the best which you can get if you hire lawyer is to have settlement that judge can say 3 years is too much but one year would be fair and makes a decision that you have to pay at least part of the amount which they spent for your green card process.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
sfmars said:
Why do you call this as unfair illegal agreements , it was a contract which you signed based on your own will (without any enforcement).
Click to expand...
Some contracts are simply illegal or unenforceable. Doesn't matter if nobody forced you to sign it.
 
Yes. I agree with you , and hope the judge sees it that way,and takes into account the six years already served. ( 2 years on EAD which is a beneficiary of green card application)

by unfair and illegal , it is exactly the word JackoLantern described - unenforcable due to many reasons - mainly its an open ended contract without a known start time and unfair bargaining * in my opinion.

I'll update this thread as developments happen. Thanks again for all the help.
 
2 more possibilities - - -

Take heart - it may not come to the old company pursuing you. You will be afraid for a few months, but they may decide not to go after you because that means money to be spent upfront for them.

Secondly, assume they hit you with 10K (made up figure). You can negotiate it down to a reasonably less amount (say 4K - as the expenses of the GC application actually incurred) and then strike a payment plan which can be extremely easy - say $20 a month. I am ware of a case that made this kind of a ridiculously low payment agreement.
 
dl1cd said:
Secondly, assume they hit you with 10K (made up figure). You can negotiate it down to a reasonably less amount (say 4K - as the expenses of the GC application actually incurred) and then strike a payment plan which can be extremely easy - say $20 a month. I am ware of a case that made this kind of a ridiculously low payment agreement.
Click to expand...
Yes, if you are willing to pay something they almost certainly will negotiate because if it went to court they'd have a good chance of losing, and even if they won they'd probably only get the green card fees reimbursed but not their own legal fees. Taking you to court might mean spending $8K (or whatever) for a 25% chance of winning back $10K, so they may prefer a $3K settlement.
 
vghc said:
I think its illegal in the US to bond employees like that.
Click to expand...

This case is not bonding and not illegal. The same as sign-up bonus.
Unless you work for certain time, you'll miss a part of bonus stated in contract.

Assuming employer has obligation to pay the expense(there is no such law though), it is supposed to be
the application fees(LC, I-140, I485) which should be around $2000 even if you include ad for PERM. The rest is attorney fee
which is OK that beneficiary pays for that.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
GotPR? said:
This case is not bonding and not illegal. The same as sign-up bonus.
Unless you work for certain time, you'll miss a part of bonus stated in contract.
Click to expand...
No it's not the same. Requiring payback for leaving early is not the same as a bonus that becomes payable after a certain time. Especially since this is talking about 3 years after getting the green card, which is an uncertain time.

That doesn't mean all forms of employee bonds are illegal. The court will look at the specific details of the case, including the length of time and amounts of money involved, and compare that with what is reasonable under state law. They might enforce 6 months or 1 year, but they certainly won't enforce 50 years. And whatever they do enforce, they'll consider the time already served when determining the payback amount. And they will look at whether the employer was promising to keep the employee working and paid during the specified time. Employers can't require you to work for a stated time if they aren't guaranteeing your job for that same time.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what you or I think. It will boil down to the specifics of the case, the wording of the contract, and what is allowed under the laws of the particular state.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just as an aside, I questioned my company's lawyers on their green card fee reimbursement policy.

I'm supposed to work for my company for 2 years after I get the green card or else I need to pay back 50% of the fees after one year or 100% if I don't stay one year.

Since I've been waiting almost 5 years now for my green card, I asked if I would be responsible for 100% of the fees and I was told no, because I've been waiting so long.

I'd find it hard to believe that a judge would rule that an employee would have to pay fees that were sent to the USCIS 3-4 years ago.

NN
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top