
Ask HN: Company paid for green card, I quit, now they want 7,000? - o0-0o
A friend received a green card after working for a company here in the US for a while.  She quit, and now the company says they want $7000 from them for the green card.  Is this legal?
======
dalke
Here's what a few of the more knowledgeable seeming sources say:

> In situations where the employer pays for more or all of the Green Card
> sponsorship, it is common for the employer to have the right to "claw-back"
> all or a portion of what it has paid in the sponsorship process if the
> employee leaves his or her employment within some number of years.

> In the area of H-1B temporary visa sponsorship, CIS and Department of Labor
> (DOL) rules affect how costs can be shared.

> First, the DOL rules state if the employee is required to pay for the costs
> of immigration counsel, those costs are to be subtracted from the employee's
> salary to assess whether the salary meets the DOL's prevailing wage
> standard.

> Second, the CIS rules state that the company must pay the H-1B user fees
> (either $750 or $1,500 depending on company size) and H-1B filing fees
> ($190).

> Finally, the employer cannot impose any penalty on the employee for ceasing
> employment prior to an agreed date, although the employer is entitled to
> liquidated damages.

This are all from
[http://www.mbbp.com/resources/employment/immigration_sponsor...](http://www.mbbp.com/resources/employment/immigration_sponsorship.html)
, which was the most comprehensive of what I came across.

> 1) The employer could ask for some reimbursement if it does not decrease
> your annual wage at the time of repayment to lower than the prevailing wage
> of the H1B visa. Also, they should not be asking you to return the H1B
> special filing fee or the fraud fee. Regarding the employer-sponsored green
> card process, it is against the law for the employer to have you reimburse
> them for attorney fees and advertising costs associated with the first
> stage, i.e., the PERM stage where the ETA 750 is filed with the DOL.

> 2) It depends on how the agreement is worded, among other factors.

These are answers from two different people at [http://www.avvo.com/legal-
answers/can-a-company-ask-you-to-p...](http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-
a-company-ask-you-to-pay-visa-and-green-card-f-747577.html) .

> The law specifically prohibits employers from being reimbursed by the
> employee for certain immigration-related fees.

from [http://forums.immigration.com/threads/can-an-employer-ask-
fo...](http://forums.immigration.com/threads/can-an-employer-ask-for-filing-
legal-fees-to-be-paid-back.250312/)

All say that you/your friend needs to consult an immigration lawyer for
details.

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liquidexil
It's highly likely. The issue is that she probably signed a contract stating
that the green card would be paid off at the end of the year/2 years/some
period of time. Similarly to a signing bonus, you have to pay it back if you
don't fulfill the terms.

In the future I'd advise your friend to read over any contracts, and ask about
anything you don't understand. Reading it over with a lawyer may also be
beneficial. Your friend is in an unfortunate situation, but at this point it's
probably too late to fix.

~~~
o0-0o
Thanks for the reply. I suppose if they withhold any of her final paycheck
then it gets more real. I'll relay the message.

------
gamechangr
Yes. It's legal and actually quite normal.

Otherwise companies would be paying for Green Cards endlessly.

