Need help immediately- Employer demands payment without giving me an offer letter

[riya010]

Hi friends,

I was shortlisted as an H1 B Visa applicant by a New York based company this year. I had negotiated and committed via emails to pay Rs. 60,000 to this employer as a security deposit. Therefore as per my commitment I mailed 2 checks to their India offshore office, one amounting to Rs. 20,000 which would be non - refundable in case I didnt get picked up through lottery and another post dated check amounting to Rs. 40,000.

Though this commitment was only via emails and i had not even received the offer letter or employee contract, i felt uncomfortable going ahead with this employer and mailing out those checks. So I immediately stopped payments on them and informed this employer. Last week I received a legal notice from their India office, asking me to pay Rs. 65,000(cost of the expenses they incurred for processing my application)

I would appreciate if a legal advisor, attorney or maybe someone who has been in a similar situation helps me with the following queries:

- are financial commitments made via emails legally binding?
- is it within the regulations of uscis for an employer to demand a reimbursement of the attorney and educational evaluation even though there was no offer letter or employee contract signed by me?
- if i file a case against him with the USCIS, will it affect my H1 B visa that got approved through another employer?
- can the attorneys process H1 applications without an offer letter or employee contract?
- how much do attorneys charge to process a H1 application?
- what is the best thing for me to do at this point of time?

Since the legal notice demands that i pay up within 2-3 days, i would greatly appreciate if someone could give me some valuable inputs at the earliest possible......

[txh1b]

I would appreciate if a legal advisor, attorney or maybe someone who has been in a similar situation helps me with the following queries:

1- are financial commitments made via emails legally binding?
2- is it within the regulations of uscis for an employer to demand a reimbursement of the attorney and educational evaluation even though there was no offer letter or employee contract signed by me?
3- if i file a case against him with the USCIS, will it affect my H1 B visa that got approved through another employer?
4- can the attorneys process H1 applications without an offer letter or employee contract?
5- how much do attorneys charge to process a H1 application?
6- what is the best thing for me to do at this point of time?

Since the legal notice demands that i pay up within 2-3 days, i would greatly appreciate if someone could give me some valuable inputs at the earliest possible......

Not a legal advisor or an attorney.
1. No
2. USCIS says no payment for most part of the fees. Employer can legally collect Attorney fees and eval fees.
3. No
4. Most likely no.
5. Varies on volume business. Anywhere between 800-2000 USD.
6. Was it a demand letter or a notice from the court? You can ignore demand letters as they mean nothing. If it is a court notice, get a lawyer and file a general denial.