We recently received the following email from an H1B Wiki visitor:

My husband got his H-1b this year and has valid visa from Oct 2013- oct2015 , through a consultancy . But He is not getting any calls for interview . Can you help us !! he has 6+ years of exp as XXXXXXXX admin . He got only 2-3 calls but all of them wanted Full time workers . He can only work as consultant/ contractor because he has signed a bond with his Consultancy. What should we do?

This blog post will address her issue. Joining a IT consulting firm in the U.S.  doesn’t always start off smoothly. It is very important for a beginner who is just starting his/her job as a contractor under a consulting company to know how things would work out for him/her.

There are certain ways that some IT consulting companies use to  keep you bound to them, without letting you move out of that company. You may neglect these at the time of joining, but these would be the pain points when you want to move out from that firm.

Different ways that an IT Consultancy can keep you bound to them:

Bond/Contract With The Consulting Firm:

You may need to sign a contract or a bond mentioning you would work for the corresponding company for XXX months, and if you intend to leave during this period, you may have to pay $XYZ to the firm. Usually, these amounts are ridiculously high and are around $10,000-$15000 !!

Try to Avoid this Contract

These bonds are not legal and most courts would rule these kinds of bonds. Some companies may claim that they have invested a lot of money for employee`s training and the employee is liable to pay back  those expenses. In this case, please consult an attorney to respond to your employer.

Original Certificates:

Certain consulting firms would ask you to submit original certificates(Educational, Passport etc.) at the time of joining. I would sincerely suggest you to avoid such a situation.

Never give your Original Documents. 

For any kind of application process, both for H-1B or green cards, copies would work and originals should not be submitted.

Deposit:

Some consulting companies would take a deposit from you to file your H-1B and/or green card and would promise to return it back. Make sure your H-1B is filed by your employer itself.

Avoid Paying for your H-1B. It’s Illegal!

Pay Checks:

You need to be aware that some employers would not give your pay checks on time and give it late, covering up with some issues. If you decide to leave the company, the consultant might refuse to run the remaining Pay checks.

If your Employer refuse to pay, you can complain to the Department of Labor (http://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/wh-4.pdf)

Employer is supposed to pay the full salary even if you are on bench.

Be aware of these kinds of bonds with a consulting firm, and the issues which would come up in future. A clear and transparent discussion is necessary before you start working with the employer. Make sure you talk to the employees working for the same company and understand how things would be around there.

Did you ever have any issues or concerns while working for a consulting firm? How did you handle? Please share us your consulting experiences by writing to us at [email protected].