H-B1 Visa Terminated- transportation back to country of orgin

[Ger-Stalk]

Illinois.


I have been told by my employer today I am being laid off on Monday for reasons outside the department's control. This will terminate my visa! Typically the employer has an obligation to provide "reasonable costs of transportation" back to my home country.

Can someone help me understand what is considered reasonable? If they book a flight back for me, do they get to choose the time and date or do we both have to agree to that piece? I ask as I do still have an apartment and family here. Timing is important to me. Can my former employer simply tell me the date and time of my travel home or do I have any say? Any insight/help would be great as I am really worried.

Thank you all!

 

[FlyingRon]

The employer is only responsible with providing the funds. You need to get your own ticket. I'd research the price for a ticket for the time you want to fly and submit that to your employer. As long as it's not too extravagant, it probably should work. The employer is not obliged to make sure you leave, just that you have been given the resources to do so. You have 60 days grace (to either get out or find another job). It's entirely on you if you don't do so (and will accrue illegal presence back to the date you were terminated).

 

[NeilTheCop]

It's a complex subject, and due to the rules changing seemingly overnight, it would be best to contact an immigration attorney.
Your former employer will now inform the USCIS that your employment has been terminated, and at that point his sponsorship ends. You have a 60 day grace period to find another employer who is willing to sponsor you and file a new I-129 petition.

"(D) Change of employers. If the alien is in the United States and seeks to change employers, the prospective new employer must file a petition on Form I-129 requesting classification and an extension of the alien's stay in the United States. If the new petition is approved, the extension of stay may be granted for the validity of the approved petition. The validity of the petition and the alien's extension of stay must conform to the limits on the alien's temporary stay that are prescribed in paragraph (h)(13) of this section. Except as provided by 8 CFR 274a.12(b)(21) or section 214(/n) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 1184(/n), the alien is not authorized to begin the employment with the new petitioner until the petition is approved. An H-1C nonimmigrant alien may not change employers."

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2019-title8-vol1/xml/CFR-2019-title8-vol1-part214.xml

You are correct that your former employer has to pay for your return fare home, but only for you, not your family.
From my understanding, and this is why you need an attorney, is that if you haven't found another sponsor after the 60 days, your former employer is no longer required to pay your fare.