Hi,
I've run into a bit of a nightmare scenario and have a few questions -
before I ask them, here's a little background on my circumstances.
I've been working in the US for 5 years on an H1-B visa and have ran
into some trouble recently while tranferring to another employer. I'm
originally from the UK.
I left Company A (private) in April 2007 to work for Company B (state
government). They filed the I-129 to transfer the employer, and so
that original visa was good until January 2008 (when the I-94 expired
also). They actually messed up the I-129 - the forgot the file the
LCA, but USCIS overlooked it and allowed me to continue employment
while they filed it.
In November of 2007, I told me employers that they had to file another
I-129 to extend my stay for another year. They were happy too, and
tasked my supervisor (a software engineer with no HR/immigration
experience) to fill out the I-129 and they (Human Resources) would
sign it and send it in.
In early December, they sent the I-129 for the first time. It was
REJECTED because it didn't have some supplemental attachment. In mid-
Decemember, they sent it in again. It was REJECTED AGAIN for missing
signatures. They sent it in a THIRD time in late December (in the
exact same state as it was rejected the second time), and AGAIN, it
was REJECTED.
When it was rejected the 3rd time, I was out of status. They advised
me to speak with an immigration attorney - he advised them that I
could continue working for them TOMORROW if they sent in the I-129
today, but that he reviewed their I-129 and "found numerous errors
some of which would led to the denial of the application or even
resulted in liability on the part of Company B". I also spoke with our
local senator's office in depth, and they agreed with the immigration
attorney.
Apparently, it's a "gray area" of the law - because the immigration
attorney couldn't show my employer eveidence showing that it was legal
to hire me while my petition was pending (or at least, "received" by
USCIS) they weren't willing to keep me employed. They terminated me.
The sob story: My fianc=E9e and I eloped (Las Vegas) and are out
thousands of dollars in immigration attorney fees to file my green
card application. My wife is 36 weeks preganant. Commutes 3 hours a
day. Works full time. Is taking 3 classes per semester towards her
MBA. I still can't work as I don't have my work authorization. There's
quite a financial as well as emotional impact as I'm sure you can
imagine. We have a $2k mortgage, 4 pets, a baby on the way and zero
left in savings (a few thousand in C/C debt at the moment).
2 immigration attorneys, and two representatives from a Senator's
Office have told me that I have a solid case against Company B, but
"good luck finding an attorney who'll take the state to court.
Here are my questions:
1. My attorney advised me that I could file for unemployment benefits
as soon as I received the receipt notice for my green card. The Dept.
of Work Force Solutions say I need my alien registration card before
they can approve the payment of benefits. Who is right?
2. When I first joined Company B, they told me that I had to fill out
the I-129 and pay the fee (I don't have that in writing). They are a
state agency (200-300 employees) and have never hired foreign
nationals before. Do I have grounds for suing them? If not, is there
anything I can do to get them heavily fined by USCIS? I do have a
written letter from the Directory of the Agency addressed to the
Senator stating that they wanted to keep me that I'm a valuable
contributor, etc. and they (Company B) made errors on my I-129.
I've spoke to several personnel/HR attorneys here about the case -
most aren't interested in the case, can't take the case because they
work with the State Government, or I find myself spending 2 hours
trying to explain what I know about immigration law to them.
Any advice/thoughts would be gratefully accepted!!
- Best regards,
Elpear1 |