H1 B VISA Issues - Company demanding Money

I am an employee in India and my employer decided to apply H1B VISA for me in March 2013. When I got to know about this I drafted them a mail in march as the filing starts in April informing them that “I cannot leave the country as I have some Family Issues this year”. But, they still processed my documents saying I would have compensate the company as they have already paid filing fees and demanded that huge sum from me. I said it was not possible for me and informed them that I would be ready to cooperate provided they keep me in the loop for all further information. Now its been 6 months my application status on website is “RFE”, also I have another offer in my hand. So I put my papers, but my employer is demanding to pay H1 fees for getting my relieving and experience letters and they are threatening to blacklist me from VISA processing in future years.

No company can blacklist/ bar you for Visa Processing for years. It can only be done by US Department of state and USCIS in a joint effort. They are just trying to threaten you to get money. Firstly, it is never an employee’s expense and should always be paid by the employer. They do NOT have right to ask for it.

It works the other way, if USCIS and US Labor department gets to know about this, they will blacklist the company. Dont be scared, they are just trying to scare you and get money. Talk to an attorney and seek legal advice, if they are threating you.