Are H1B "consultants" safe ?

[devesh84]

Hi Everyone,

I am currently a graduating student on a F1 visa. I am interested in company X but company X is not willing to sponsor any H1B candidates. So they recommend me to get in touch with a "H1B consultant" Y who will 'place me in company X'.

I am not sure what this 'place me in company X' means. I read about it and it seems that what this means is that -- Y will hire me as a 'contract worker' and then send me off to X. The biggest catch in this whole scheme is that my paychecks can only come through company Y. (and not through X).

I am wondering if this is indeed the case ?. My understanding is that "no-one except the actual employer (the firm that gives you paychecks)" is allowed to file for an H1B. Is this true ?.

Can no 3rd party company like company Y in this case file an H1B on another company's behalf ?.

I am not desperate for a job with company X in case the above way turns out to be shady. So I am asking for your opinion of this "H1B consulting" process. Any links having more information would be very welcome.

Thanks a lot.

[shervin143]

This is how most H1B candidates work. Company Y will be your actual employer who will process your pay checks and Company X will be your client. Your insurance and all the other benefits will be from Company Y. The Company X will pay company Y for your services. Company Y will take a cut off what Company X pays and will pay you the rest or they will pay you a fixed monthly salary. When your services are no longer required by Company X, Company Y will have to find you a different client.

Can no 3rd party company like company Y in this case file an H1B on another company's behalf ?
No. Company Y cannot file an H1B on behalf of Company X. They will file a petition for you to be their employee.

[kabkaba]

This is a standard IT consulting way, nothing shady about the way itself. But some consultants have shady practices.

[devesh84]

Summary: Consultants not worth the risk.

I sincerely thank both of you for replying. H1B consultants are definitely not worth the risk !. Many thanks for clarifying this.

[txh1b]

You have arrived at the right conclusion.