H1B job termination without notice

[jk12]

Hello All

I am on H1 visa and was asked to take leave without pay until further notice in march first week this year. Last paycheck is from that period. As per my company policy & employment contract,
I should have received 3 weeks notice regarding the termination of employment, which never happened.
On checking the status of my I 129 petition on USCIS, they have received a correspondence on 04/20/2015 likely from my employer.

Please advise as to what should I do now. File for H4? Is my current stay out of status. Again I have not even received any termination notice.
Does filing for H4 becomes effective as soon as it is filed.

Please help with your advice.
Thanks.

[raghvi]

Hello All

I am on H1 visa and was asked to take leave without pay until further notice in march first week this year. Last paycheck is from that period. As per my company policy & employment contract,
I should have received 3 weeks notice regarding the termination of employment, which never happened.
On checking the status of my I 129 petition on USCIS, they have received a correspondence on 04/20/2015 likely from my employer.

Please advise as to what should I do now. File for H4? Is my current stay out of status. Again I have not even received any termination notice.
Does filing for H4 becomes effective as soon as it is filed.

Please help with your advice.
Thanks.

If notice period/pay lieu of was mentioned in the offer letter and they not honoring it, then yes, you can possibly complain to DOL, also they are bound by law to provide you a return ticket back to home country.

As you are not in valid H1 status currently, since you are not getting paid, it would not be possible to move to H4 while staying in US.

You basically have following choices:
1. Exit US, go for H4 stamping and return.
2. Complain to DOL if you see a valid justification for it, and in parallel find another H1 sponsor.
3. Talk to current employer about the notice period, flight ticket back, and complaint to DOL as per law and tell that you willing to negotiate provided they keep your payroll running till you find another job.

This is my opinion not legal advice.