Urgent: H1B filed by consultancy Employer agreement

[stephen]

Hi,

A consultancy has offered me to sponser H1B visa for FY2013-2014.

Subsequently they have asked me to sign a contract for 28 months and pay a penalty/damage $8k if not abided by and have signed the document. Also with the following line in it.

"This Agreement may not be altered, amended or modified in any manner except by a written agreement executed by both parties"

Now, they have made an amendment to the employer agreement and stated in e-mail some other conditions related to 28 months period. But have not sent an updated agreement document.

My question is can an e-mail suffice as a written agreement executed by both parties. Does it hold any value before the court of law or that you always need to have signed documents.

-stephen

[JoeF]

That sentence means that a modification is only valid if both parties have agreed to it, in writing.

But in any case, such a contract may not even be valid. You should have the contract checked by an immigration lawyer and a labor lawyer.

Personally, I would not sign such a contract to begin with. If an employer is so bad that they need such a contract to prevent people from leaving them, it is not worth working for them in the first place.

[catx]

Based on my study of employment and other business agreements (contract law) in college, if the employer's own agreement stated that "this agreement may not be altered, amended or modified in any manner except by a written agreement executed by both parties", then an e-mail notifying you of changes and amended conditions would be more of a request to amend, and should not be binding. They would have to send you an document that would need to be signed by you and the employer to be binding (with the following two notes), and you should be under no obligation to do so. Note 1, if you replied to their e-mail accepting the amended terms and conditions, then they could argue that a written amendment was executed by both parties. Note 2, by not agreeing to the amended terms and conditions, they may be able to take certain actions depending on the terms and conditions in the original agreement (for example they could terminate your employment and revoke your H-1B, but in doing so would have to pay for a flight to your home country, which is required by U.S. law.)

Regardless of what I posted above, the best advice is to consult with a qualified labor attorney in your state (as labor laws are state based and vary) to understand your rights and obligations, and any potential consequences of an action.