Stuck in India

[11MohanRedddy]

I'm asking on behalf of my friend who is currently stuck with his family in India.

He had a H-1B visa stamping date of Dec 19th but received an email earlier this week stating that his appointment has been moved to May 2026.

His company wasn't happy to hear about this, and they are not being supportive. They don't want him working remotely as their immigration lawyer informed them that it would be a violation of the terms of the approved LCA. Per company policy, they don't allow their H-1B visa employees to work remotely from another country for more than 2 weeks at a time.
His Manager and HR told him that he needs to apply for FMLA leave as the regular leave does not cover such a long period of time. Unfortunately, the adjudication and approvals of FMLA leave is performed by a 3rd party company and it requires a valid medical reason.

In light of this disruption, he's not too hopeful that his company will preserve his job for too long as they now see this episode as a burden. Besides, given the criticality of his role at his company, this disruption will present challenges for his manager and his team.

I know that this is a relatively new development. I wanted to ask all the legal experts in this group on what they think his best path forward should be. He's worried that he left his apartment in the US assuming that they would be back in the first week of January.

[Vendetta_Returns]

2 minutes ago, 11MohanRedddy said:

I'm asking on behalf of my friend who is currently stuck with his family in India.

He had a H-1B visa stamping date of Dec 19th but received an email earlier this week stating that his appointment has been moved to May 2026.

His company wasn't happy to hear about this, and they are not being supportive. They don't want him working remotely as their immigration lawyer informed them that it would be a violation of the terms of the approved LCA. Per company policy, they don't allow their H-1B visa employees to work remotely from another country for more than 2 weeks at a time.
His Manager and HR told him that he needs to apply for FMLA leave as the regular leave does not cover such a long period of time. Unfortunately, the adjudication and approvals of FMLA leave is performed by a 3rd party company and it requires a valid medical reason.

In light of this disruption, he's not too hopeful that his company will preserve his job for too long as they now see this episode as a burden. Besides, given the criticality of his role at his company, this disruption will present challenges for his manager and his team.

I know that this is a relatively new development. I wanted to ask all the legal experts in this group on what they think his best path forward should be. He's worried that he left his apartment in the US assuming that they would be back in the first week of January.

which state uncle?

[11MohanRedddy]

2 minutes ago, Vendetta_Returns said:

which state uncle?

Not sure. 

He had a follow up call with his manager today and it appears that his company is leaning toward to canceling his H-1B visa (and his employment) if this mess does not get sorted in time. Their patience is running low.

The legal expenses that they have been incurring for constantly conferring with an army of immigration attorneys (given the constantly changing rules) has been stacking up and they don't believe that at this point the headaches are worth it. Management feels that there are no guarantees that his visa will even get stamped in May 2026 because additional RFEs could be issued from now till then. Besides, they have no control over what may be uncovered in his social media background check.

My friend fears that if he has to come back on a new H-1B visa, the $100k rule will kick in.

[Vendetta_Returns]

15 minutes ago, 11MohanRedddy said:

Not sure. 

He had a follow up call with his manager today and it appears that his company is leaning toward to canceling his H-1B visa (and his employment) if this mess does not get sorted in time. Their patience is running low.

The legal expenses that they have been incurring for constantly conferring with an army of immigration attorneys (given the constantly changing rules) has been stacking up and they don't believe that at this point the headaches are worth it. Management feels that there are no guarantees that his visa will even get stamped in May 2026 because additional RFEs could be issued from now till then. Besides, they have no control over what may be uncovered in his social media background check.

My friend fears that if he has to come back on a new H-1B visa, the $100k rule will kick in.

he can sell his stuff on market place 

cc @csrcsr and @Sucker

[11MohanRedddy]

27 minutes ago, Vendetta_Returns said:

he can sell his stuff on market place 

cc @csrcsr and @Sucker

Go to expats and tell anna

[krishnaaa]

1 hour ago, 11MohanRedddy said:

I'm asking on behalf of my friend who is currently stuck with his family in India.

He had a H-1B visa stamping date of Dec 19th but received an email earlier this week stating that his appointment has been moved to May 2026.

His company wasn't happy to hear about this, and they are not being supportive. They don't want him working remotely as their immigration lawyer informed them that it would be a violation of the terms of the approved LCA. Per company policy, they don't allow their H-1B visa employees to work remotely from another country for more than 2 weeks at a time.
His Manager and HR told him that he needs to apply for FMLA leave as the regular leave does not cover such a long period of time. Unfortunately, the adjudication and approvals of FMLA leave is performed by a 3rd party company and it requires a valid medical reason.

In light of this disruption, he's not too hopeful that his company will preserve his job for too long as they now see this episode as a burden. Besides, given the criticality of his role at his company, this disruption will present challenges for his manager and his team.

I know that this is a relatively new development. I wanted to ask all the legal experts in this group on what they think his best path forward should be. He's worried that he left his apartment in the US assuming that they would be back in the first week of January.

I thought 60 days should be fine working from overseas.

[Spartan]

8 minutes ago, krishnaaa said:

I thought 60 days should be fine working from overseas.

every company has their own policy..typical timeframe is 4-weeks...after which employee/er need to start thinking about the plan path forward.

avanni enduku bokka ani 2-week chestaru kontamandi

[shaw183]

companies aite epudu asal patinchukovadam ledu.. maaku risk enduku ra nayana anatlu unaru.. 

He should find other alternatives but next to impossible as there is no Interview slot near future. tough times.

[idibezwada]

2 hours ago, 11MohanRedddy said:

Not sure. 

He had a follow up call with his manager today and it appears that his company is leaning toward to canceling his H-1B visa (and his employment) if this mess does not get sorted in time. Their patience is running low.

The legal expenses that they have been incurring for constantly conferring with an army of immigration attorneys (given the constantly changing rules) has been stacking up and they don't believe that at this point the headaches are worth it. Management feels that there are no guarantees that his visa will even get stamped in May 2026 because additional RFEs could be issued from now till then. Besides, they have no control over what may be uncovered in his social media background check.

My friend fears that if he has to come back on a new H-1B visa, the $100k rule will kick in.

isn't this only for 1st time new h1bs?

[Spartan]

2 minutes ago, idibezwada said:

isn't this only for 1st time new h1bs?

renewals also only india from August 2025

[Sucker]

1 hour ago, krishnaaa said:

I thought 60 days should be fine working from overseas.

Maa old company policy just 2 weeks anna 

[Tellugodu]

1 hour ago, Sucker said:

Maa old company policy just 2 weeks anna 

What the policy in your mestri shop ? Finally good days for locals.

[karna11]

Only december month interviews yee rescheduled aaa, January lo interviews slots vunnyi antagaa