Options when laid off during vacation abroad


collegian

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Hello,   

My employer has been laying people off. I am traveling abroad next month for a period of 3 weeks.  I am on H-1B visa, 8th year running. I am wondering what options will I have if I get laid off during vacation?

The last time my employer laid off people, they did all lay offs on a single random day which very few people saw coming or knew about. The offer they gave to laid off employees involved having them on the company's payroll for a month and then being offered a severance package. If hypothetically, I get laid off during vacation and if I get a similar package, then will that mean that I can return back to the US safely since I would still potentially be the company's payroll? What if I get severance directly and am not put on company's payroll? Is it better to postpone the vacation? Any thoughts/suggestions/ideas are welcome.

Thanks

Edited by collegian
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If you return back and if POE tries to contact your employer they will say you no longer are employed with them so basically you do not have any job which makes your H1B visa worthless.

Better postpone vacation. Find a new job and get h1B transfer approved. If your stamped visa is valid you can return with out new stamp. You need to just carry new approved H1B copy.

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On 9/14/2019 at 2:23 PM, pontevecchio said:

Enjoy your vacation and do not keep in touch with company affairs while on vacation. Given the time frame, there is no problem.

Is there a rule which requires companies to inform USCIS as soon as an employee gets laid off? Do you have any idea as to how long does it take to get reflected in USCIS system?

Edited by collegian
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On 9/13/2019 at 12:28 PM, gopalakrishnach said:

If you return back and if POE tries to contact your employer they will say you no longer are employed with them so basically you do not have any job which makes your H1B visa worthless.

Better postpone vacation. Find a new job and get h1B transfer approved. If your stamped visa is valid you can return with out new stamp. You need to just carry new approved H1B copy.

Do you know if they typically do that? I'm not sure how the update happens. Is it just a web based system which updates instantaneously? Will I not get the 60 day grace period?

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11 hours ago, collegian said:

Is there a rule which requires companies to inform USCIS as soon as an employee gets laid off? Do you have any idea as to how long does it take to get reflected in USCIS system?

Yes. The employer is required by law to inform USCIS if a person on H1 no longer works there. It doesn't matter how long it takes to be reflected in the USCIS system. As soon as you are laid off you can not use the H1 visa.

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9 hours ago, JoeF said:

Yes. The employer is required by law to inform USCIS if a person on H1 no longer works there. It doesn't matter how long it takes to be reflected in the USCIS system. As soon as you are laid off you can not use the H1 visa.

Does that mean that I can't even avail the 2 months grace period after being laid off? In that case is the only other option to get a new visa? Does it make a difference if the employee is still on the company's payroll but not actively employed?

Edited by collegian
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14 hours ago, collegian said:

Does that mean that I can't even avail the 2 months grace period after being laid off? In that case is the only other option to get a new visa? Does it make a difference if the employee is still on the company's payroll but not actively employed?

If you are abroad there is no grace period. The grace period only applies if a person is in the US in H1 status.

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On 9/18/2019 at 12:31 PM, gopalakrishnach said:

if the employee is still on the company's payroll but not actively employed?  - this does not make sense. Which employer will pay you without working for them.

The way lay offs were done last time around meant that people receive regular pay checks for a month and had their last day a month later so that's what I meant by not actively employed but still on company's payroll.

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4 hours ago, collegian said:

Ok, thanks for the clarification. I do think though that a person will lose H1 status as soon as they lose their job. Not sure why being abroad affects that.

You seem to be confused about visa and status. A visa is an entry document, used to enter into a particular status that matches the visa. An H1 visa allows you to apply for entry into H1 status.

The grace period means that the person is still in valid H1 status in the US.

If you are abroad you by definition don't have a status. A person only has a status while physically in the US. So, if you are abroad there by definition can't be any grace period. No status means no grace period.

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