H1B Transfer to new Employer after Current employer filing Bankruptcy

[yv255]

Hello Members,

Currently I'm working on H1B visa. And I'm with my current employer more than an year now. Till now the company was doing great & I received all benefits & Payroll on time.

All of sudden, due to some company financial issues, they are having trouble in running the company & even the payrolls to some of the employees as well. Just to let you know, me & couple of colleagues did not receive last month payroll as well. When I contacted my HR, they are saying that due to some technical issues, they couldn't run the payroll & they will do that ASAP. Strange part of is that, they are not sending any official/written email communications to any one regarding this.

 

Through a trusted source in the company, I got to know that they are in the financial trouble & they may go far filling Bankruptcy as well.

 

I'm planning to transfer my current H1-B visa to a new Employer, so that I can stay in good visa status & continue working as I'm today. I'm in the process of finding a new Employer for that. My Questions are:

1) If I file my H1-B Transfer to a New Employer, during that transfer period, if my current employer also files a Bankruptcy, then  will my transfer happens smoothly? Are will that go in Question/issues?

 

2) If my Current employer would have already filled a bankruptcy & they did not communicate to us, then will that HOLD my payroll?

 

3) Since I'm still finding a new employer, it may take couple weeks to find this. During this period if my current employer files a bankruptcy, can I still proceed further with my transfer after they filled Bankruptcy. 

 

Your Inputs are really appreciated... pls advice... Thank you!!

[t75]

You would have a claim for unpaid wages in a bankruptcy.  Before it comes to that, file a DOL claim

[yv255]

Thank you t75 for the quick response, Yes I'll report to DOL for sure at the end, once I put myself in better position. I don't want to fight with them at this moment... 

Could you pls provide your response for the 3 questions that I posted... Thank you !!

[JoeF]

It is good that you are proactive.

You probably would get to know quickly if there was a bankruptcy filing. The bankruptcy courts usually assign somebody other than the current management to run the company while in bankruptcy. After all, it was the management that drove the company into bankruptcy, and the shareholders won't have much confidence that that management can reverse course...