Read Part 1 here:https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/vkshdw/how_i_pulled_myself_out_of_a_suffocating_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
PART 2
Chapter 4 – THE H1B PROCESS: The unpleasant news of the demotion and salary reduction had a silver lining – She agreed to file for my H1B. I'm an optimist, so I decided to focus on the good news. I started finding out contacts of immigration attorneys who could help me out with the process and not charge me a bomb – since I was going to be paying them, out of my own pocket, with a salary equivalent to peanut shells. Found a tried and true attorney based out of Pittsburgh who agreed to do it for $1800. The process started. It was a long arduous process which I had to somehow manage outside of work hours, and everything was due ASAP.
The application was finally sent out on the first Monday of April, the deadline. After about a few weeks of awaiting the results, I heard the news.
Chapter 5 – THE NEWS: My H1B application was PICKED in the lottery!!! I was among the 80,000 people whose application was randomly picked among approx. 250,000 applications that year! I was happy – something good came out of this!
I contacted the attorney, thanked them, told my boss, my colleagues. It was '”Rum all around” season! I asked the attorney, what's next? She told me that we now await the approval. I was happy. I went back to my boss, expressed my gratitude for retaining me, and agreeing to sponsor my visa. I forgot that I was dealt a bad hand. I was just chirpy, grateful, and filled with positivity. I had started thinking about how happy and exciting my life would be here for the next 3 years, and that I will able to get a better pay, get promoted, I was even ready to start thinking about getting married to my gf at the time, if everything worked out well. Now my troubles will be over, I will be eligible to live and work in this country for six years, my life seems good now….or so I thought.
- Well, you see, my reduced pay had a huge impact on my financial planning in general. But, I was content about how my H1B was selected for official processing and convinced myself that the salary can be negotiated at the one year mark or later, based on my performance. I mean, she was a just person after all, right? Americans in general are…or so I thought.
So much for the “soft power” of Hollywood and their projection of righteous Americans.
Anyway, this reduction in my salary severely impacted my H1B application as well. So, when I finally finally heard back from the USCIS, instead of an approval notice, I was served with a Request for Evidence (RFE) to prove my abilities or occupation “special enough” for the government to consider granting me a work visa.
- The way the USCIS sees it is that you need to make certain amount of money based on your place of work, your title, and your education. If you make lower than the standards set by the department of labor (DOL) then they can ask WHY you're getting paid so low? Are you so insignificant that you're being employed at such a low salary? Are you even legitimate in that case? Do you have any self esteem? Couldn't you work at a place that valued you? Maybe you aren't worthy. Well, here's a chance to prove you are, you nonexistent piece of nothing.
The lawyer had told me about this before applying. I had told my boss about this, and was hoping to use this as my last bargaining chip towards my salary. She said, leave it or take it. I took it. We went ahead with the process. And now, I was in this position.
The lawyer and I started gathering evidence to prove that, yes, people who graduate out of grad school do get employed at an Intern position in the Architecture industry which is one of the standard titles used in the precedents, and that the $42,490.68 salary may be lower than your standard, but there are people in this area that get paid that low. We planned to prepare letters of recommendations from other firm owners….. wow! I dread even thinking about the hoops we were planning to fly through. Thankfully, the USCIS gives you 3 months to prepare a solid response and send them, so we had time.
Chapter 6 – THE DRAMA: Now the USCIS sends this notice to two places: Your attorney AND your employer. When I was discussing something about gathering the evidentiary info from my office manager, she casually told me that they had already mailed the response back to USCIS.
WTF!!!!! I was like why didn't anyone tell me? What did the response say? What all info did you send out? She told me some screenshots and a written letter. I was furious! I called my lawyer ASAP. She said nothing can be done now, all our efforts are down the drain. The USCIS will not accept two separate mails, and we're still miles away from drafting a full response, so they'll base their decision on what they receive first – the mail my office had sent over.
I was in tears. I picked myself up, and asked the attorney if they can do anything to prevent the letter from falling into USCIS' hands, Hollywood style. Nope, she said. I requested them to continue drafting my response since I'd already paid them for this added service. Yes, the response was costing me and additional $1000. They said ok, and we hung up.
Politely, I told my office manager what a big mistake that was, and my boss overheard this conversation, only to pass a remark, “I knew this was going to be a headache, what a waste of money, effort, and time”.
That evening I stood at the great river in the middle of the city and yelled my heart out, in public, for 10 minutes straight. Quietly returning back to my normal self thereafter and walking to my train station, dejected.
Three weeks later, my office manager calls me at her desk first thing in the morning. She says, “The letter never made it to the USCIS. The USPS sent it back, for the postage was not paid fully. There was a 30c stamp missing.”
This company's negligence (and/ or cheapery) had saved me.
Miracles? Yeah I think they do happen…
My body had a cute little non-lethal heart attack hearing all that, I think. My lawyer couldn't believe any of this.
She told me the response was ready.
I asked to see it.
She said they sent it.
I was like, if this miracle can happen, my visa is meant to arrive…or so I thought.
_ PART 3 in progress _