H-1B Visa Holders Can Go On Unpaid Leave, Say Immigration Experts

Immigration attorneys are inundated with queries from their clients related to their H-1B employees. Can we bench our H-1B employees? Can a salary cut be offered to them? Can they go on unpaid leave? These are many issues that employers with H-1B workers are grappling with.

Can we bench our H-1B employees? The reply from immigration experts is a – No! Even if such employees are benched, they have to be paid the stipulated wages for their unproductive time. This understandably becomes a costly affair for companies to deal with the economic slowdown brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Is terminating employment the best answer? Technically, the services of an H-1B employee can be terminated. Rajiv S. Khanna, Arlington based immigration attorney at Immigration.com said.

Further, employers also would need the services of the H-1B employees, once things begin to improve.

So, the solution is that the H-1B employee seeks personal time off. In such a situation, they are allowed to remain in H-1B status and the employer does not need to pay the salary for this leave period, David Nachman, NJ based managing attorney, points out.