suraj Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Someone in family came on L1 Visa (IT Project manager) for what was supposed to be a long term project. Wife along with 2 kids also moved to USA with him; wife had to leave 12-yr old job to move; they wanted to stay ateast 4-5 years if not settling forever. The long term project got shelved in December; company really wants to retain him somehow in US but no new projects are coming up because of lack of funding. Because of L1 he cannot change companies too- if nothing comes up they will have to leave end of this month. This is too quick a move after leaving everything when moving from India to US so they are exploring options but nothing seems to be working. Their daughter had to leave school there and move here too and get enrolled in school here- now its mid-year so can't finish here or there which may end up meaning losing a year. Can someone suggest any solutions 1) To stay in US; is there any way I can help as a US citizen? 2) To stay in another country e.g, Canada so they don't have to go back? Any help/advise will be appreciated.
Rajiv Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Canada will only be 12 months at the most, PR application is a long term process now
Cricketics Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 HEY SURAJ. try this forum - http://forums.immigration.com/index.php post your problem there.. very active forum this.. they might come up with some solution for you perhaps. it's a very old and famous forum
suraj Posted January 7, 2009 Author Posted January 7, 2009 HEY SURAJ. try this forum - http://forums.immigration.com/index.php post your problem there.. very active forum this.. they might come up with some solution for you perhaps. it's a very old and famous forum Thanks Cric!
Ram Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 If the company wants to retain the person in the US, why are they asking him to leave for India in Jan end? He has a valid visa status, his family has one too. Irrespective of whether he's in an active project or not, he can stay if the company agrees. After all, he'll continue to be on their payroll, only he wont get billed for the out-of-project time that he's in. If he can convince his Accounts manager in India to somehow allow him to stay on for longer, that may help. Who knows, a requirement may be pop up then... If it was only A guy, I'd have recommened him joining some part-time MBA course, get an I-20 issued and apply for 40 hr/week CPT by which he can work here ( he'd have to quit his earlier job though and find a new one). There's a slim possiblity that he can get his family back in as dependents on his student visa, but that may not be that easy. Meanwhile, he can apply for H1-B and hope he gets it in the lottery this April. That is assuming his employer DOES sponsor his visa. If he doesnt, he may have to do it through a consultant.
fineleg Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 ^ same qn as MM - if company can allow him to keep the job (sounds like they are) then they can maintain him in L1 - then he should be ok, right? project shelved or not is internal matter to the company.
gs Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 True, but will the company be willing to just keep him on the bench and pay without actually getting any work out of him?
Ram Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 ^ same qn as MM - if company can allow him to keep the job (sounds like they are) then they can maintain him in L1 - then he should be ok, right? project shelved or not is internal matter to the company. As far as I know, he can stay here as long as his L1 is valid ( I think its for 2 yrs, dont know for sure). The only problem is, because he isnt in an active project, he isnt getting billed. So, the company want him back in India so that he starts doing some work for them. But, if he can convince his Accounts manager to allow him to stay on for longer, that’ll be fine. But I rarely know of any companies that do that.
suraj Posted January 7, 2009 Author Posted January 7, 2009 As far as I know, he can stay here as long as his L1 is valid ( I think its for 2 yrs, dont know for sure). The only problem is, because he isnt in an active project, he isnt getting billed. So, the company want him back in India so that he starts doing some work for them. But, if he can convince his Accounts manager to allow him to stay on for longer, that’ll be fine. But I rarely know of any companies that do that. The problem is that there are other projects going on in India that he is needed for- they have already been keeping him on since December in the hope that something opens up but nothing has so I guess they are restless now about keeping him on the bench specially when there is pressure from India to join as soon as possible there.
Ram Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 The problem is that there are other projects going on in India that he is needed for- they have already been keeping him on since December in the hope that something opens up but nothing has so I guess they are restless now about keeping him on the bench specially when there is pressure from India to join as soon as possible there. If is absolutely desperate to stay on, as I mentioned earlier, one of the options is to enroll in a part-time masters program, get an I-20 issued along with a 40 hr/week CPT. But he will have to quit his current job and find a new one. Also, once he goes off his L1, his family will have to go back, but he can try to get them back in as dependents on his F-1. But for that to happen, his finances must be in really good order. P.S; This is just ONE of the options, not THE option. Also, I am not a 100% sure this will work either.
coffee_rules Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 I think you can sponsor a H1-B visa and hold him here. Ofcourse you will have to register a company in your name and employ him. Consult a desi lawyer, there are many who do it and there might be legal ways you can help. Like If he is your blood relative you can sponsor a green card.
fineleg Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 I think you can sponsor a H1-B visa and hold him here. Ofcourse you will have to register a company in your name and employ him. Consult a desi lawyer' date=' there are many who do it and there might be legal ways you can help. Like If he is your blood relative you can sponsor a green card.[/quote'] Register a company, sponsor H1 etc may not be as simple.(correct me if I'm wrong). There are tax implications, a wide variety of things one needs to consider. Regarding if there are other ways he can stay - pls. do consult an immigration lawyer - try to talk to some good ones like Sheela Murthy or Rajeev Khanna. They (or their assistants most likely) will atleast lay the options out on the table, and then your friend and you can evaluate if any such one is feasible in your situation.
The Outsider Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 If is absolutely desperate to stay on, as I mentioned earlier, one of the options is to enroll in a part-time masters program, get an I-20 issued along with a 40 hr/week CPT. But he will have to quit his current job and find a new one. Also, once he goes off his L1, his family will have to go back, but he can try to get them back in as dependents on his F-1. But for that to happen, his finances must be in really good order. P.S; This is just ONE of the options, not THE option. Also, I am not a 100% sure this will work either. Don't think a F-1 can be issued for a part time program. As far as I know F-1 is only for full time students - I might be wrong though, as my knowledge of these things is extremely limited.
fineleg Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 i think shwetabh is right. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-1_visa
Ram Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Don't think a F-1 can be issued for a part time program. As far as I know F-1 is only for full time students - I might be wrong though' date=' as my knowledge of these things is extremely limited.[/quote'] O.K, Whatever that visa is, he must get it.. :D
fineleg Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 I dont mean to derail suraj's thread - will start a separate one later on this topic - many such incidents seem to be happening with general job market being one of the lousiest ones.
Ram Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 I think you can sponsor a H1-B visa and hold him here. Ofcourse you will have to register a company in your name and employ him. Consult a desi lawyer' date=' there are many who do it and there might be legal ways you can help. Like If he is your blood relative you can sponsor a green card.[/quote'] Mate, you cant just start some random company and hire foreign nationals on an H1-B visa. Remember, H1-B is for highly skilled workers. If a company files for a H1-B visa, it must be able to justify to INS that there’s a genuine need for that worker’s skill set in their organization and that’s no easy thing to do. Besides, not all US registered companies can file for H1-B visas. There’s something called this E-verify list or whatever, that the company must figure in, for it to be able to file H1-B petitions.
gs Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Mate, you cant just start some random company and hire foreign nationals on an H1-B visa. Remember, H1-B is for highly skilled workers. If a company files for a H1-B visa, it must be able to justify to INS that there’s a genuine need for that worker’s skill set in their organization and that’s no easy thing to do. Besides, not all US registered companies can file for H1-B visas. There’s something called this E-verify list or whatever, that the company must figure in, for it to be able to file H1-B petitions. This is for extension of F-1 OPT beyond 12 months, dont think it has a bearing on H1-B.
coffee_rules Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Mate, you cant just start some random company and hire foreign nationals on an H1-B visa. Remember, H1-B is for highly skilled workers. If a company files for a H1-B visa, it must be able to justify to INS that there’s a genuine need for that worker’s skill set in their organization and that’s no easy thing to do. Besides, not all US registered companies can file for H1-B visas. There’s something called this E-verify list or whatever, that the company must figure in, for it to be able to file H1-B petitions. I have heard from people who have dunnit as recent as 3 years back. There are some loopholes in the H1B program, which lawyers know how to take advantage of. It all depends how desparate one is. The best thing to do is consult a lawyer. Forums give umpteen advices like mine.
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