The 10th month or October is always an anxious month for H1b employees. H1b contractors are waiting to see who will make it the last quarter of 2017 and eventually in 2018. The last quarter is always the layoff quarter for both H1b full time employees and H1b contractors.
The past administration has issued a 60-day grace period rule for H1b employees. However, this is a one-time grace period. This grace period is a discretionary benefit and can be refused.
The level 2 wages are also creating a problem for H1b employees to find new jobs. The level 2 wages for Application Developers (Java, .Net developers) is 90-110k in California, New York and 80-90k in New Jersey.
Many startup, mid-level companies and Indian implementation partners are not hiring at these wages because payroll taxes, health insurance, legal fees and other benefits are another 25-30k for companies in addition to the employee salary.
The Perm and I-140 must be filed in EB2 category for H1b employees who are transferring to another employer after layoffs. If any layoffs occur at the new employer prior to the hire or immediately after the new hire the new employer will not be able to file Perm for 180 days.
According to the published August 2017 data the number of green cards pending before May 2010 for India is 19,104. The annual quota for India is roughly 3,300. It is a very grim picture but ‘H.R.392 - Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act’ will eliminate this per country quota soon if passed in house and senate.
The new administration backed immigration bill ‘Raise Act’ also has a provision to eliminate the per country quota. So, H1b employees need an employer who is willing to file their Perm and I-140 immediately.
If you need an employer who can help you in this difficult time of layoff please email your resume to [email protected].
Press note released by: Indian Clicks, LLC
