cyberflu said:Please advice me if i can use my EAD. and what are the complications
dyingforgc said:Tammy is correct. keep all possible proofs.
If you file I-140 and cannot file 485 is pending due to Visa numbers unavailability you will get three years expension.satishgc said:I left cyber couple of months back,h1b is not approved till now from cyber, i am working with my old employer .If my h1b is rejected there is no way i can extension for my 7th year ,i guess i will have to go back.Any suggestions on this please?apparently cyber was only my 2nd h1b transfer.
Can someone answer this.
tammy2 said:If you file I-140 and cannot file 485 is pending due to Visa numbers unavailability you will get three years expension.
So appling in PERM may help you.
unitednations said:Although it doesn't say that the I-140 has to be approved, USCIS position is that it has to be approved. Since ac21 was written before concurrent adjudication, the only way one would have been eligible for this is to have the I-140 approved. Also, it doesn't mention three years but under h-1b rules no application can get more then 3 years in one extension.
C. AC21 104(c) - "One -Time Protection" Benefits Extension of H-lB Status Permitted where Adjustment Pending under Per Country Limitations
The AC21 104(c) enables H-lB nonimmigrants with approved I-140 petitions who are unable to adjust status because of per-country limits to be eligible to extend their H-1B nonimmigrant status until their application for adjustment of status has been adjudicated. An H-lB nonimmigrant is eligible for this benefit even if he or she has exhausted the maximum 6-year period of authorized stay for H-1B nonimmigrants under 8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(4), INA 214(g)(4). The statute states that the beneficiary must:
(a) have a petition filed on his or her behalf for a preference status under INA 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) (an employment based ("EB") petition); and (b) be eligible to be granted that status except for the per-country limitations.
Any H-lB nonimmigrant who meets the statutory requirements above may be approved as the beneficiary of a request for an extension of H-lB nonimmigrant status until a decision is made on the nonimmigrant's application for adjustment of status.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/handbook/ac21guide.pdf
asdqwe2k2 said:http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/esa/ESA20051909.htm
ESA News Release: [11/21/2005]
Contact Name: Brad Mitchell
Phone Number: (312) 353-6976
Release Number: 05-1909-CHI
Southfield, Mich., Computer Staffing Firm to Pay $2.65 Million In Back Wages and Penalties for Immigration Law Violations
DETROIT—Computech Inc., a Southfield, Mich., firm that places computer professionals at locations throughout the United States has agreed to pay $2,250,000 in back wages to 232 computer professionals and a $400,000 fine to settle immigration law violations, the U.S. Labor Department announced today.
An investigation by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division found that Computech brought non-immigrant H-1B workers into the U.S., but failed to pay them the minimum required wage rates in the areas where they were employed. The investigation also disclosed that Computech frequently ?benched? the workers without compensation contrary to the rules of the H-1B program.
?The Department of Labor aggressively enforces the law to ensure that temporary foreign workers are compensated fully and fairly,? said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. ?Abuse of the temporary foreign worker program is not tolerated and violators, as this case shows, are vigorously pursued.?
The settlement, approved by a U.S. Labor Department administrative law judge, orders the company to pay $2,250,000 to 232 foreign workers and a $400,000 fine in addition to the back wages. The company is also prohibited from participation in the H-1B visa program for 18 months.
The H-1B visa program allows foreign workers to enter and work temporarily in the United States in professional level jobs such as computer programmers, engineers, medical doctors and teachers. H-1B workers must be paid at least the same wage rates and benefits as those paid to U.S. workers already doing the same job in the same area.
Computech contracts with other firms to supply computer professionals who work on the premises of those firms. It has customers across the U.S., with the largest numbers of its workers in Michigan, Illinois, California, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Minnesota.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces the H-1B wage provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, in addition to other federal laws pertaining to wage payments. For more information please visit www.dol.gov or call toll free 1-866-4-USA-DOL.
unitednations said:Although it doesn't say it explicitly it is implicit that h-1b time has effectively stopped. USCIS is almost saying that if you have an approved h-1b but you are using another status, ie., f-1, b-1, AOS then the clock continues to tick on the h-1b even if you are not using it.
lostbattle said:Hi UN,
1 more question. Ideally how shud the non availability of pay stubs from sep till date be handled by the co lawyers while h1 transfer. i.e shud they just submit Aug pay stubs and wait to see if H1 is cleared without any query and answer the query if any OR shud they produce a letter which says that CST has not paid.. I believe DOL will be issuing a letter to all those who have contacted them which will explicitly say that we were not paid by CST etc sometime soon.. Which is the best approach? Please advise.
as of now i m missing pay stubs for sep,oct ..
unitednations said:If you are working at a client site, USCIS thinks that your employer is really an agent, ,temp. staffing agency
unitednations said:IRS goes after the employer and officers of the company. You would be fine but you won't get credited for the social security earnings.
Although things such as salary is dischargable in bankruptcy, not remitting taxes to IRS is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Officers of the company will be held liable.
There isn't much for you to do. Most people whom I know of joined in 2005 and they will also get this unpleasant surprise next year on their social security statement.
Also, DOL already knows about this and I believe they have already notified the applicable tax authorities regarding this issue.
tammy2 said:That is perfectly legal and USCIS knows that. This is called consulting and employee augmentation. This contract is between employer and the client. So there is no way USCIS will consider it as self employment
Is it not legal to have multiple layers in between? LCA needs to be for the work location not where the middleman is located.pralay said:It's legal provided there is a contract for a well-defined job between client and H1 employer. The problem is that, in many cases many H1 employers don't have proper contract due to multi-layered contracts. For example, H1 company A's employee X working for client C. Therefore it has an amended LCA for client C location. But A does not have contract with client C. Instead it has a contract or purchase-order with another middleman company B. Inconsistency is right there between contract and LCA. This is just a single layered example. It it becomes multi-layered the whole matter becomes more complicated. It's not an unmaneuverable matter, but complicated.
tammy2 said:Is it not legal to have multiple layers in between?
tammy2 said:LCA needs to be for the work location not where the middleman is located.
pralay said:Did you read my post? I said "it is not an unmaneuverable matter, but complicated". If it is multi-layered and USCIS is aware of it, they can ask for each copy of contract to connect the dots between end-client and H1 employer. It can be complicated.
pralay said:That can be a problem, because LCA mentions end-client's location (name + address), but I have seen a few copies of multi-layered purchase-order where there is no mention of end-client's information. They just mention rate, duration etc.
tammy2 said:That is totally a different issue and differs case by case. Why should it be rejected out right without even looking at the contract.