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roommate lost his job (and is on H1-B)
starlancerii
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Registered User regular
So today my roommate learned that he's been laid off. This is normally a shitty thing, but much more so in his case - he's in the US on a H1-B visa, meaning that if he's laid off, he's got like, 30 days to find a new job. After that, he's gotta go back home. Unfortunately, this current economy is pretty bad for job searching. Is there anything that he can do in the next 30 days? Previously he was working for IBM as sort of a strategy/IT consultant.
Unfortunately, this also affects me, in that he's my roommate. If he can't find a job, I'm kinda screwed too, in that I have to find a new roommate. Plus, I won't know until those 30 days are up whether or not I need to replace him, and it would look pretty bad if I started looking for roommates now. I'm not sure what to do now. I *can* afford to pay both our shares of the rent for a month or two if he moves out, but I'd rather not.
This is in the New York queens area.
Unfortunately, this also affects me, in that he's my roommate. If he can't find a job, I'm kinda screwed too, in that I have to find a new roommate. Plus, I won't know until those 30 days are up whether or not I need to replace him, and it would look pretty bad if I started looking for roommates now. I'm not sure what to do now. I *can* afford to pay both our shares of the rent for a month or two if he moves out, but I'd rather not.
This is in the New York queens area.
starlancerii on
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Explain to your roommate that you're going to try to line up a replacement should it become necessary, and ask around to see if anyone would be interested, just in case it does happen. Worst case scenario you've got a shitty month or two before you move or find a roommate.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
serious answer: try...internet? does he have any connections at his old work?
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There are actually a fair number of recruitment agencies that are specialized in areas like tech or engineering (especially in a city as big as NYC). It might be something to look into.
Google says try these:
http://www.justengineers.net/
http://engcen.com/employmentres.asp
Also, it doesn't help your roommate situation, but he could probably find a placement service that could look outside the bounds of NY. That is, if staying in the U.S. is more important than just staying in NY.
I've had some pretty extensive dealings with immigration and its not easy, I am on an H1-B myself. The rules are confusing, often contradictory and the Border Agents don't always know all the rules themselves. It would not be a bad idea to look for a lawyer to get some advice.
He should at least look up the relevant information online from government websites so he doesn't get screwed.
H1-B visas are very much tied to the sponsor, but there are almost certainly options available. For example, if he managed to find another job from another employer who was willing to sponsor him, I don't find it inconceivable that immigration would just find a way to transfer his visa over or re-issue him a new one without much fuss. Then again, I'm not an immigration lawyer, so wtf do I know.
IANAL, but i am a law student and have worked in an immigration law firm for a while.
your roommate will need to find a new employer willing to sponsor him on the H-1B. iirc, the new employment must be substantially similar to the prior job. if he's able to find a new employer who will sponsor him, the new employer can file an H-1B nonimmigrant visa petition to amend the one filed by the old employer and to extend his stay. once the petition is filed, he doesn't have to wait for it to be approved, and can start working right away. his immigration status would also be fine at that point (at least until the 6 year maximum for H-1B status)
the obvious problem is that a temp job employer will not sponsor him, and even if they did for some crazy reason, a temp job would not satisfy the legal requirements for the H-1B anyways. i'm fairly sure he wouldn't even be legally allowed to work in a temp position: he can only be gainfully employed if his immigration status allows it. for H-1Bs specifically, he HAS to be employed by an employer who has filed an H-1B petition for him. there are other means to allow a foreign national to take up work in the US if they're a nonimmigrant, non-green card holding person, but it sounds like none of those options would work for him, at least not without him leaving the US and trying to apply for another one of the immigrant statuses. that process would take too long for your rent problem anyways.
the other issue is in what industry does he work. if it's software, he's pretty much boned. the current flow of workers right now is actually BACK to their home countries, thanks to the economy.
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I don't think he was working software directly - his past staffing position was sort of a consultant position, where he was working on strategy while his team was migrating the client over to SAP, I think? Are there any companies recruiting for that kind of a position?
It just really sucks that he's been here in the US for 7 years now (since starting college), and now he's been told that he has 30 days to find a job or he has to GTFO of the country.
Actually, I think he could also change his status from H1-B to a student visa? Grad school? Would that work?
As to your rent situation, ask your roommate if he's open to agreeing to pay the next month's (after the 30 days rent) either way. This way, you can wait until you know for sure that he has to leave to start looking for another roommate. This should alleviate the stress on both of you in the situation assuming he can afford to pay one extra month's rent if he has to leave the country.
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if he ever wants to be able to come back to the US, he'd better not risk overstaying. like, at all.
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Apparently they aren't joking around with that nowadays