H1B Stamping - Problem with W2

[TopDice]

Dear Immigration experts,

I am planning to appear for an interview with consulate in India for my H1b stamping as my visa is expired on passport. I have my H1b approval until end of 2012. In 2009 I worked for three companies - with company A (until April 2009)
with company B (from April 2009 to Sept 2009)
and with company C(from Sept 2009 - Present)

For 2009, I have a W2 from company A and from company C, but company never gave me a W2. When asked they gave payslips and said they will pay but never did. I have a full W2 from company C for 2010. Currently, my H1b is with company C and so my LCA is from company C. Below are my questions -
1. My total $$ from W2s from companies A and C for 2009 total to a decent figure but I am unable to verify if it matches/exceeds my LCA for that year. I do not have LCA that company B filed when they transferred my H1b from company A
2. Will the lack of W2 from Company B create problem for me at the time of interview.
3. I have my full W2 from 2008 and there is a clear drop in my total salary from 2008 to 2009 and my salary moved up in 2010. Will this fluctuation cause problem? If VO asks me for my W2 from company B, what should I say? I do not intend to lie and planning to just tell the VO that I have payslips (but never got paid) but no W2.
Please advice. Thanks for your help.

[txh1b]

Every company is supposed to provide a W2 by law. You can complain to IRS on the W2 issue from B and How did you file for your taxes in 2009 without a W2 from B?

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc154.html

There may not be problems unless something looks wrong to the VO.

[TopDice]

Thanks for your reply.

I filed my taxes based on my other two W2s from companies A and C. Can I complain no, after two years!? Also, I do not want to get into a legal hassle of filing complaints with IRS. My current company C is a big MNC with more than 20K employees and its a fulltime job. If the VO asks me to present my 2009 W2s, I will show only two W2s - from companies A and C. Summing up $ from these two W2s will show a drop (around $30K) from previous year 2008. What do you think I should say if the VO asks why there was a drop? Can I say that I was on a vacation and later the company B promised they will pay but never did and once I moved to company C I just forgot about it (which was infact true as I never cared to pursue much once I moved to my current job)?

thanks again

[TopDice]

To quickly add to my prev post, company B never paid me anything and so I guess they never sent any W2. Technically, I was "on bench" without pay for those couple of months even though I ended up working on pitching for projects to external clients. As these efforts never materialized I think company B chose not to pay me anything.

[Nishant]

You have earned higher income and you are under-reporting income on tax return without one W2. This is incorrect and requires correction else you can face IRS penalties.

If you donot have W2, you can use substitute W2 which any tax software can advise you of.

[TopDice]

Thanks Nishant.
I have not under-reporting income. I never received pay, therefore no W2 from company B and hence did not file any income from it. I filed income from other companies for that year though.
My question is, if the VO asks why I do not have W2 from company B for 2009 what would be a reasonable answer? I do not want to lie. I just want to answer the right way. The truth is, after I moved to company B, I wanted to take time off before I begin searching for an appropriate role and was on a voluntary vacation. I was not forced to take vacation. This was for around 4 months before I moved to my current employer in 2009. Please advise. thanks!

[shervin143]

Well, there is no concept of "voluntary vacation" when you are in H1B. It is just another term for "bench". When you are in H1B status, you need to be working and getting paid to maintain the H1B status. Otherwise you are out of status on H1B and it can be an issue. If your employer did not revoke your H1B, then they are suppose to pay you and provide you a W2.

[TopDice]

Thank you Shervin. I understand I was "on bench" and my voluntary vacation is not valid. What are my options now? I understand I made a mistake and maybe even broke law (I didn't know it then as I was assured by my boss that I can be legally on a voluntary no-pay leave), but whats the way out now? Should I just go for an interview anyway and face the risk of a visa denial?

[TopDice]

Any thoughts? Much appreciate your time. Also, do I need to LCA copies from my previous employer? I do not have LCA copy from one of the companies I worked for in 2009. Related question - how will the VO compare my total pay (from my W2s from 2009) with what I was supposed to pay as per my LCA when I do not have LCA from the company? I have LCA from the current company though and my full year 2010 W2. Please advise.
thanks.

[shervin143]

LCA from the previous employer is not required. Just cary the LCA from your current employer. While filing the H1B petition, the employer will send the LCA along with the petition. So if they really want to dig deeper, they that look into your previous history.

Any thoughts? Much appreciate your time. Also, do I need to LCA copies from my previous employer? I do not have LCA copy from one of the companies I worked for in 2009. Related question - how will the VO compare my total pay (from my W2s from 2009) with what I was supposed to pay as per my LCA when I do not have LCA from the company? I have LCA from the current company though and my full year 2010 W2. Please advise.
thanks.

[TopDice]

Thanks again Shervin. If the VO asks for my W2 from my previous empl from 2009, what would be a reasonable answer? I have two W2s from 2009 and these add up close to my old LCA (based on what my prev empl told me) and I have my W2 from 2010 (and ofcourse all payslips from the past 20 months). Can I just say that I was on a voluntary vacation to travel within US? This is partly true as I did want to take time off although I after a month or so I started looking for another job as I didn't like the work my empl was giving. Please advise.

[vgudi]

I am also on same boat and Planning to attend visa in Hyd. Please share your visa interview experiance ?