Pls help - How to transfer H1 within 1 month?

[mrcoolbuddy]

Can anyone of you pls let me know how it is possible to transfer the H1 within a month after landing in US? Can you pls explain me the procedure and whom and how to approach?

The reason why i am thinking of this option is that my employer is not ready to pay for my ticket to US and also he wants me to take care of myself till i get a job, they dont have a guest house and there will no help in arranging the interviews also. One of my friends is already in US with the same company and is in a big fix.

Can you also pls explain wht dependency we have on the employer who processed our visa to transfer the H1, i mean to ask does he hold any of my docs that are useful in transfering the H1. I have my 1797 and other docs with me in india.

Seniors pls help me with your suggestions how to handle this situation.

Thanks,
Cool

[C4us]

They are supposed to have a job ready for you. You must be in status - paid - in order to transfer. Your employer cannot prevent you from doing so. He may have some recourse if you have signed a contract as some - not all -employment contracts are enforceable in a court.

By the way, since many people are doing just what you are planning, it is no surprise that the employer is not paying those expenses. He will never recoup those costs if employees work for only a few months.

Jobs are not as easy to obtain as you may have been lead to believe - especially jobs with real empoyers and not consultancy firms like your current employer. It is not unusual for the lead time from an interview to an offer to be 2-3 months or more for well qualified, experienced people with unique and in demand skills who can have immediate background, reference and credit checks. With the worsening economic conditions, jobs are becoming more difficult to obtain and the 2008 graduates will be hitting the job market now and into the summer as well as the students on summer internships. The OPT extensions will also affect the number of available positions.

In as much as you know that your friend is having problems, you really should re-think coming to work for your current employer. You should locate a legitimate employer and have him file a new petition which is not under the cap before traveling.

If you come and have too much time before receiving pay, you will be required to return to your home country for consular processing of the new petition anyway since you will not qualify for a transfer.

[txh1b]

It is illegal to not pay a H1b employee after he reports to work. Benching without pay is not in the dictionary of DOL or USCIS. Ask your friend to complain to DOL on a WH4 and get paid. Moreover, he/she is out of status without pay and no transfers are possible without a paystub.

[DMX17]

Also, the employer is not required to have a guest house for you when you bench.

I don't know where this idea of having a guest house originated from. Must be an item in the benefits package by these shadys.

[txh1b]

I don't know where this idea of having a guest house originated from. Must be an item in the benefits package by these shadys.

I confuse myself with the idea that this is just like the relocation benefit for 3-4 weeks that genuine US employers provide its new hires to settle down and find a place of their own.

But they provide a decent suite or extended stay place. This "guest house" setting is to boost the morale of people as they will have company of many others in the same boat in the comfort of a place they can call home.

They can share the technical knowledge useful for the interview. I have heard stories of 4 people from the same guest house interviewing for the same job with the same telephone number on their resume.

[DMX17]

They can share the technical knowledge useful for the interview. I have heard stories of 4 people from the same guest house interviewing for the same job with the same telephone number on their resume.

Yeah, the company of many others in the same position and their same frustrations surely help justify all the faking of resumes and what-not. Experience gained in this demanding environment (the guest house) is really valuable and provides an extra edge in the job interview.

[txh1b]

Experience gained in this demanding environment (the guest house) is really valuable and provides an extra edge in the job interview.

Ofcourse, the 4th guy to be interviewed has all the competitive advantage and time to look up the answers for the questions if the first three people are kind to share.

[knowledgeable]

Here you go ...

... your H1B sponsor employer has to give you full salary as declared whether or not the employer has any projects for you when you land in United States.

Usually, most employers provide air fare and other facilities. If you have any written document from your employer about any benefits like health insurance, accommodations etc. then you should get those benefits.

Make sure you do not give any of your or their original documents to them. If your employer asks for your passport (which legally they cannot), make sure you tell them that you will yourself make copies and give it to them. This goes for any other original documents you have like your petition, I94 etc.

Yes, it's very difficult to get projects in United States unless you're exceptionally brilliant in specific field of work and your employer has excellent contacts in the market.

If your employer does not show any other negative feeling, then stay with the employer, give them a chance and see what they can come up with for your project.

As I mentioned above, legally they need to give you full salary from the day you land or the next working day after you land in United States. If they do, make sure you get your salary slips and keep these original with you.

Some employers may choose to give only a "stipend" or pocket expenses while you wait for a project. In such a case, tell them you don't have any money with you and ask them to give you an advance of at least US$2000 that they can deduct from your salary later on.

The point is, be positive, give your employer some benefit of doubt but be on top of things and consistently but politely follow up with persistence.

Keep your original documents safe with you or any of your relatives/friends who may be close by where you are in US. Do not let the employer "keep" those documents for you.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

[mrcoolbuddy]

Hey thanks!

Thanks very much for reply and your time Knowledgeable. Here is my whole story with my employer. Please help/suggest me:

I got my visa very recently after 221(g) which was applied in april 2007. I got 221(g) for my employer not providing wage reports and notarized list of employees initially, which were very well requested by me to provide while going to interview. But they didnt as they are a very small comp and doing H1s for the first time from india and they have less than 10 employees with them as of now on their board.

Initially we were told that we will get accomdation till we get a job and i didnt expect the air tickets from him, actually i have applied H1 for my wife also with the same comp which she got approval of H1 after 2 queries in jan.

My employer is asking me to come now as the market is bad, he wants me to join them immediately irrespective of the bad market and at the same time he is not ready to provide accomodation

Already my friend who got visa with the same company is in a big fix, who is in US now staying at his own expenses and its been 45 days he is in there and till now they couldn't arrange him a single interview with nil guidance from them. They forced my friend to join them immediately and he left US leaving his job with Top MNC here. He cautioned me with all this info.

Now please me in transfering my visa with good employer. I am not thinking to land in US till next 6 months atleast or till the market seems to be Okay.

My employer didnt even send my wife's H1 papers till now, she already got H4 recently when i got my H1. Now my employer wants to apply for COS for my wife after she comes on H4, he is not ready to send us her H1 papers. I will anyhow try to get her H1 papers and we will take her H1 interview soon.

I read in this forum that its possible to transfer the visa within 1 month we land in US. Please explain me the procedure to transfer the visa within one month after landing in US and also please let me know will there be any problem with my employer in transferring the visa.

Thanks,
Cool

[knowledgeable]

First of all ...

... TXH1B & DMX17 are Senior Members and have given more than valuable advice to numerous people in this forum. You should understand that the problem you reported are very common and this frustrates a lot of people like TXH1B, DMX17 and myself amongst others. We cannot understand why people keep falling in the same trap.

If you know your company is small and the market is "bad", why did you file for your wife's H1B through this employer?

You should have looked out for another employer for your wife's H1B and then piggy backed on her H1B in case your employer wasn't able to get you a project soon enough.

FYI, the market is not only bad but there are no near future signs of any improvements either. If you have been following the United States and global economy news you would know that the things are pretty bad and won't get better soon. "Soon" is a very loosely used word, which can mean anything from a few months to a couple of years, who knows.

If you don't have any faith at all in your employer and they're not providing you with either accommodations or full salary from day 1 of your landing in US, then you need to look out for another good employer who will sponsor your H1B and have it transferred to their company.

That company's HR/Attorney will help you with the procedures. However, you need to start your ground work right now.

I assume your employer will at least give you health insurance coverage. If not, then without salary, air far, accommodations or health insurance you need a large amount of funds from your home country transferred to US in dollars for you to survive properly and if God forbid any health issues occur, you're in for big trouble.

Do your full homework before jumping in unknown waters.

Do understand that you may have "good" friends, but the information from them may not always be good or correct. Make your own judgements after getting info from various places.

Take care.

Good luck.

[txh1b]

Being senior members of this forum, its shame on you making fun of a member when he wrote about his problem.

By the way you didnt even try to answer to the exact point asked.

Its better to be like other members not responding to the issue rather than making fun and humiliating.

Accomodation was an item in the benefits package of my employer, not the guest house. And I was concerned about the accomodation that employer needs to provide for initial period, it may be a GUEST HOUSE or a apartment - any means of accomodation.

Thanks.

There is no reason for you to get all worked up. No one made fun of you. Those were generalized statements directed at Shady Consulting companies and their practices. Unless you belong to one of them, there is no reason to take it personally.

For one, I have always opposed and stood against shady consulting companies. The forum has an "ignore user" function which you might explore and start using.

Chill!

[txh1b]

My employer is asking me to come now as the market is bad, he wants me to join them immediately irrespective of the bad market and at the same time he is not ready to provide accomodation

First of all Coolbuddy, you really need to make sense of your username. Stay cool and think.

You have written your entire story but have to introspect into it as well. Your employer is asking you to come to the US now even when the market is bad. Why?

Because the new H1b season is on and they might have applied for many H1bs just like last year and USCIS will ask them to show their employee roster in RFEs and they should have a few employees to prove that they indeed did have the jobs they said they had last year and got the H1bs approved.

If they don't, USCIS will not approve more H1bs for them. USCIS has been getting strict by the day and they are asking for documents that the consulate asked you and USCIS had RFE for your wife.

The market is bad like knowledgeable suggested. You have to think outside the box and figure out the ulterior motives of these mom and pop shady consulting companies.

After all if you land up here and cannot find a job, before you go through the complaint procedure with DOL or a H1b transfer, they can fire you and drive you out of status. You are the one that is bearing the risk of being out of status, not them!

[orion]

... TXH1B & DMX17 are Senior Members and have given more than valuable advice to numerous people in this forum. You should understand that the problem you reported are very common and this frustrates a lot of people like TXH1B, DMX17 and myself amongst others. We cannot understand why people keep falling in the same trap.

As long as ppl in India or a third world country drool foolishly on a job and life in US or another advanced country, these shady bloodsucker consultant employers will be successful in "trapping" ppl, inspite of bad economy. Of course this arises out of the their insatiable hunger for dollars and a firm resolution to stoop to the lowest of the levels to achieve that, whatever the case may be. Forged document, **** experience, guest house, benching, not giving approval notices, unrealistic bonds, very similar to bonded labor and slavery in old days, not paying in time, not paying at all! You name it and it happens, and prolly more than what you can even imagine.

I dont know if you know the most infamous story. I am sure that you'll be amazed if you dont know.