Hello - this whole thing sounds so shaddy. I'm sorry that she had to go through something like that. Here is what I can tell you. When she went to the consulate in Canada or Philippines to get her H1B visa she would have brought a copy of her I-129. In the form, it states what the employer was going to pay her. It is also stated in the LCA (Labor Certification Application). By law the employer has to abide by paying her the required wage. Since the LCA is approved by our Department of Labor it is mandatory that the wage is at least what was stated on the LCA. It is usually the prevailing wage or above. Unfortunately the prevailing wage is probably much lower than 30 an hour even though the market wage is higher. In regards to working in various places...an H1B is very strict on ONLY working for the approved employer. She could not moonlight elsewhere since the H1B even asks where she will be working if not the principle location. However if the employer still paid her than I think the employer can get away with it. I'm unsure of that. From what I read she made very little in fact the amount of hours divided by what she was paid sounds lower than minimum wage which is another violation unless she was 1099. So I think the only thing she could do is sue him for lost wages. She would need documented proof of the hours she worked versus pay checks and hire an atty. So the wages may be hard to get. Check out this site, you can file a wage claim for NJ. Department of Labor and Workforce Development | File a Wage Claim


This is off of a site:


Issues Arising from Termination of H1B Employees
Posted Dec 14, 2001

In this uncertain economic climate, we thought it timely to provide information on employer’s and employees' issues upon the termination of H1B Employees for the benefit of our MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom readers.

The legal issue pertaining to termination of an H1B employee is an evolving area. We understand that there are social and economic issues for the employer and the employee, low morale among the remaining employees at the workplace, loss of income to the employee, loss of a sense of identity for certain employees, as well as other psychological consequences of termination. These issues are beyond the scope of this NewsBrief. With respect to termination, we focus on the immigration law angle based on existing law, regulations, and INS policy guidance.

a. Obligation to provide reasonable costs of return transportation :

When an H1B worker is laid off before the end of the authorized period of stay, the H1B employer must provide reasonable costs of return transportation for the employee to his or her last country of residence. The law does not appear to require the H1B employer to pay the reasonable cost of the airline ticket for returning the family members or for transfer of the H1B employee's property to the home country.

Employers should keep in mind also that there is no obligation for an employer to provide the employee return transportation costs if the H1B employee chooses to remain in the U.S.

The employer can choose to fulfill the obligation to pay return travel costs in various ways. For example, the employer could either provide an amount equal to the reasonable return costs and obtain a written release from the terminated H1B employee or, alternatively, the employer could provide the H1B employee with the return air ticket through the employer's travel agent, within a reasonable time after termination. This will ensure that the H1B employee does not collect the money and then decide not to depart the U.S.

If an employee believes that the employer is not complying with the above requirement, a complaint may be filed with the INS. Note, however, that INS policy regarding enforcement of the obligation is unclear and INS statutory authority to enforce this requirement is lacking.

It may be possible for a terminated H1B employee to enforce this obligation through state courts. However it is unclear as to whether this approach would succeed since there do not, as yet, appear to have been any cases pertaining to this issue. This is likely to be because it seems financially unsound to pursue litigation for a small amount of money.

We advise the employer to keep a record of compliance with this obligation

I would contact the Department of Labor as well as INS they will need to investigate and it is mandatory that the employer has all documentation on site which for what I read I doubt they have. I hope this helps!

Let me know if she decidesshe wants to come back and work in NJ we put in writing that she'll be making 30/hr to start.