H1b Transfer Filed

[expertguy4u]

Hi ,

I have filed my H1b transfer with Employer B , currently working with employer A.

I have a penalty clause of reimbursing the H1b cost , legal and my travel to US expenses to employer A if I do not give 4 weeks notice/ complete 1 year . Is the employer A legally correct to put this clause in agreement that if I resign before 1 year / without giving 4 weeks , the company can recover full H1b and expense related to my coming here .

I have two questions. Can I join <start working on project> with employer B while serving notice for employer A.

I am coming out of the project from employer A very soon, and also have a ready project with employer B. I was thinking to resign with 1 month notice and join the employer B. Will this be an issue with my W2 having common dates. I strongly want to go by rules , please make me aware of the rules in this situation.

Please help.

[txh1b]

The employer cannot claim H1b fees (Training part of fees that employer is mandated to pay) but can claim relocation expenses paid, attorney fees etc that they are not required to pay as per the law, if you owe any, as a part of your agreement. You can join B after the H1b transfer is filed anytime. You can work for only one employer at a given time unless the H1b is filed as a concurrent H1b which makes it impractical.

Once you give notice to A, you are still an employee of company A during the notice period if you are getting paid by them.

BTW, W2 does not have any dates associated with it and goes by the year. But that does not make it legal for one to work for two companies without proper approval.

[expertguy4u]

Thanks !!

I am worried about the H1b cost and the attorney cost , does they lawfully quality As per DOL rules to recover the cost from my last paycheck or can they demand me in case if my outstanding does not suffice the amount they would have spend.

The agreement quotes "In the event of your desire to leave the company prior to the agreed term , you agree to pay full all actual travel/relocation expense . If applicable in addition you agree to reimburse the company for all cost/expenses including legal fees, incurred in connection with processing your H1b visa. You atuhorize the company to deduct and or withhold any repayment in full from any compensation or other amounts other wise owned or payble to you"

The employer cannot claim H1b fees (Training part of fees that employer is mandated to pay) but can claim relocation expenses paid, attorney fees etc that they are not required to pay as per the law, if you owe any, as a part of your agreement. You can join B after the H1b transfer is filed anytime. You can work for only one employer at a given time unless the H1b is filed as a concurrent H1b which makes it impractical.

Once you give notice to A, you are still an employee of company A during the notice period if you are getting paid by them.

BTW, W2 does not have any dates associated with it and goes by the year. But that does not make it legal for one to work for two companies without proper approval.

[txh1b]

The agreement that you signed is clear and lawful. They are claiming only things they can legally do here from what I see. And yes, they can deduct it from your paycheck as you authorized it. They need to provide itemized cost and proof though if you demand. They just can't say they paid attorney $5k for H1b and deduct 5k.

Except it cannot be all cost of the H1b visa as some of the cost is mandated by law to be paid by the employer (ACWIA fees of $1500 or $750 and anti-fraud fee of $500 (gray area here for this $500) cannot be collected from you)