Leave of absence on H1B for study

[sarosam]

Hello,
I am on H1B visa. I am also doing M.S. and will be graduating in summer 2010. I want to take some time off work and concentrate on studies. My company is ok with unpaid vacation and still maintaining employee-employer relationship.
Can I get Leave of Absence (LOA) for 2 months without being paid? If so, do I need to submit any forms/documents to USCIS, any ammendments? Would it hurt my status in USA, or any future implications like H1B stamping or green card application?
Please help.
Thank you.

[sk4ih]

From H1 FAQ on this site:

Q: My current employer does not have much work and doesn't want to pay me. However, just to help me out, he has agreed to keep me as an employee without pay. Would that work?
A: Unless you are actively employed and being paid your full salary as mentioned in the LCA, you are considered out of status. Such employment without pay does not mean anything and would not help you in any way. When your new employer applies for an H-1B petition, you will have to provide your recent pay stubs and as you are not getting paid, you would not be able to produce them and that would cause problems for you. Even if your new petition is approved, you may be asked to go to the consulate in your home country for visa stamping before being allowed to work for the new employer. And the consulate may or may not stamp your visa, depending upon the circumstances.

[kabkaba]

Leave of absense without pay is allowed under genuine reasons. But because of prevalent fraud, it is very difficult to prove that a reason is genuine. If you are in a consulting company it is almost impossible.