Negotiation Salary & Benefits with H1B sponsoring Consulting Companies
Significant number of students who graduate with a degree in US tend to go to Desi consulting companies for jobs. Fresh graduates go to them with a hope to get trained and get placed in a good company and make some decent money. There are many things to consider and one of the major things students overlook and compromise on is Salary and Benefits. Students perception is ” I first need a break and a job and then after I settle down, I can make good deal with Employers “. But, this is VERY MUCH not true. YOU LOSE a lot if you do not negotiate up front. Employers just use the vulnerability of students and make a LOT OF MONEY. Some of them are reasonable and some are VERY GREEDY. So, the idea is, you make a good decision first hand. This article is part of the series : Everything from – How to find H1B sponsor to How to find H1B Jobs in Consulting
Sample Good Pay and Benefit deals :
There are two concepts, once is Salary for an year and Percentage based on project.
If “the employer applies for students’s H1B visa, trains you and supports you with lodging and boarding until you get a job ” and the employer size is big around 200 people in company. On a percentage basis, yu can ask for 70 to 30 % ratio. It means, you get 70% of the billing rate and 30 % goes to employer. This is a good deal because if you are working for a big company, the chance of having layers before client are less. So, your employer will have good billing rate. Again, you have to trust your employer and it is your call. Some are good and some are not trustworthy. Most of them are not trustworthy. There is at least 10% money just not showed to you.
Similar to above, the company trains you and takes care of you. If they do not do percentage and only Salary per annum, yu can ask to start with $75,000 per year with Full benefits of Health insurance and 401k . The deal is after one year, he gives a hike to $80,000. There is a catch here, it depends on the technology. Sometime people in hot technologies can do better and in old technologies do not do better. So, it is relative.
If the employer is small, lets say under 50 members, You should ask for 80 – 20 percentage basis. Means you get 80% of the billing rate. Because, it is a small company, the idea that the guy will have direct vendors or clients is very less and there are more layers, so your employer gets less money and you better get more. Also, it is not a good idea to go on salary basis for small employer as he cannot afford to do rotation of money. Again, it depends.
One golden rule, go to company with some reference. I mean to say is talk to someone who works in that company and ask them details. The guy you talk to should not be relative or any way related to company. He should not tell you some crap because be gets a bonus.
There are many factors, you have to negotiate accordingly, but on the baseline above are some common percentage and salary. It varies with experience and technology.
Overall, the point is YOU HAVE to talk to employer in the beginning and clarify the Salary and benefits. Because, if you do not and get into a LONGTERM project, you lose money. Employers are very intelligent, they say we will give you a hike after First project and if you are lucky and get a good project that runs long, you are stuck…so, think about it.
I will do some post about consulting companies later…post a comment if you need specific help !
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Related posts:
- 1. How to choose your employer for sponsoring your H1B Visa ?
- H1B Sponsoring Comapnies list in US with FULL details
- Everything from – How to find H1B sponsor to How to find H1B Jobs in Consulting
- F1 visa to H1B visa: Consulting Career ? Pros and Cons of consulting ? New H1B Rules 2011 impact?
- Websites for reviews of H1B Sponsoring Consultancies in USA. Desi Consultancies /IT Consultants
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi ,
I am considering applying for H1B through a consultant. I have experience of more than 8years currently working in India. But the kind of salary the consultant has agreed to offer me is quite low and on top of that they are saying that they will offer me a reduced salary during my non-billable period. This reduced salary would be as per the prevailing wage but they are not giving me the exact figures for the same. I wanted to know how low I could be paid for this initial non-billable period.
Thanks
SK,
If they pay as per prevailing wage, then it can be something in the range of 45-60K USD. It has to be at least what will be mentioned in the LCA that company will file.
Hi Saurabh,
My education is B.Tech (4 years degree) in Computer Science and Engineering. I do have 6 years of experience in software testing (did not work on other field other than testing) and right now i am working in US on H1b. If my company is ready to process Green Card, would it consider as EB2 category?
People say that since i don’t have Master degree it won’t consider as EB2. But i also heard that 4 years bachelor + 5 years consistent experience will also consider for Eb2 category?
Please give your valuable answer!!
Thanks
Asha
Asha,
You can qualify for EB-2 if you have Bachelors degree and 5 years of progressive experience not including the experience w/ the employer who is filing the GC. So when you say 6 years of work experience, how many years is outside the employer which is filing the GC for you?
Oh then i don’t think my case will qualify for EB2. I have only 2.8 (2 years and 8 months) years experience outside of my present company. Then 3 .2 years i worked in India with my present employer and transferred here on this Jan 2012.
Tricky question:
I looked for a consultancy job myself and decided on the rate, while being employed by A. Since I needed sponsorship for the new job, approached B and B filed my H1- transfer with agreed salary. When I submitted resignation with A, they counter offered and made the salary comparable to B.
B told me (unofficially) they would deduct H1-transfer from my paycheck within 6 months of the employment. The offer letter with B never mentioned any $ amounts for termination of employment, although 2 weeks of notice was required in case I leave them.
I decided to stick to A and never joined (drew any paychecks from B). Now B is sending me laywer’s notice that I need to pay them $10k for loss of revenue/clients/adminstrative… etc..
Although I understand I might need professional advice, but has any one encountered similar situation and a way out of this?
Thanks
What if I have a H1 consultant that does not want to take company offered benefits? Do I have to pay them more?
Please advise or lead me in direction to find answer.
Thank you!
Dawn,
From H-1 perspective, you need to ensure that they are getting paid at least the salary mentioned in the LCA. If they are not opting for certain company benefits, then you should extend other benefits to them which you would have to a non-H-1 employee. If as per your company policy is to either take the benefits or get nothing, then that’s fine. In other words, you cannot discriminate against an employee b/c of his/her immigration status and ensure same rue/policy is applied to all employees.
Does that answer your question?
Hi Kumar ,
On 80 : 20 model, if the billing rate is higher, one may get more salary than LCA. Is that acceptable to USCIS. eg. if the LCA is 80 k and employee gets 140 k, will it be a concern any where.
Or is there a way to get temporary project allowance etc for the specific project to take the extra income. What is the best thing to do take the extra money during a specific project time.
The pay paid must be equal to what is stated in LCA and not lower. That is a way DOL makes sure that the company does not pay extremely low wages to the employee and at the expense of any US worker.
As long it is higher than LCA salary, then no problem. I have been working on 80/20 and no problem for quite a number of years now.
Hi Saurabh,
Is there any other element of pay like ‘Project Allowance’,’ Performance Bonus’ etc can be paid, for the extra money over LCA. Is there any tax difference for such pay.
Thanks
The employer can pay you well over the LCA amount. DOL or USCIS will have no issues w/ that. That pay can either be your base salary, or performance bonus or stock grant.
Tax implication is different from immigration. For most of the pay, employer will deduct tax (federal and state) depending upon your salary, and submitted W-4 withholding form.
Hi Saurabh,
I am working with a leading IT company of India and currently in US for 5 years. My company has applied GC for me in EB3 even if I am eligible for EB2. I140 is pending now and would be cleared in a month. I am planning to move to other company and to process in EB2 next month. People said that I would be able to use my priority date of EB3 for the new EB2. But my company is not giving my I140 in hand even if I leave the company. Would it be possible to use the Priority date without the I140 approval original/copy? Also do I have to stay in my current company for 6 months for this I140 to be valid? Please suggest.
If you have the receipt number, even that would be sufficient to port the PD. Note, that legally the employer is not required to send copy of I-140 to you and it’s his property.
Regarding porting of PD. One can do that as long as I-140 is not revoked. Now, there are two schools of thought – one says it cannot be ported only if it is revoked by USCIS on basis of fraud/misrepresentation; the other says it cannot be ported even if employer requests revocation of the I-140.
Hi,
My husband is on the 7th year and going for 8th year extension. I just wanted to know that is it true that we dont have to pay the fraud fee, trainning fee and the $2000 fee if it is the second extension under the same employer. Also we have an approved I 140, so can we get a 3 year extension. thanks in advance
Yes, certain fees are not required when filing extension through same employer. Yes, you can get 3 year extension based on your approved I-140.
I just wanted to ask if it is a second H1b extension under the same employer are we required to pay the special fees Border fees they they imposed, which is an additional $2000 or is that only for new h1b applications
It’s not applicable to H-1 extensions filed w/ same employer. Here is a link to the announcement
Thanks a lot Saurabh, that link was extremely helpful
Hi,
I am 11 yrs exp in VLSI . I am getting hired by desi company and they are sending me on H1 , My current salary in 25Lacs in India.
I have following queries:-
1. What should I expect as salary ?
2. As i will move with my family , my wife and 7 yrs kid , so what else I should take care.
Regards,
Ajit
You should go to sites like glassdoor to see what people w/ your experience are getting in US. That could be a good starting point to negotiate on salary. However, if your employer is a consulting firm, I don’t think they would be able to match what some full-time positions pay in US. You should also factor in work location as places like San Francisco and New York can be really expensive.
When filing for H-1, make sure you get H-4 filed for your dependents.
With 25 lacs in India, its very unwise to come here to do jobs as here the job market is not good & with recession fears better not to to go ahead with Desi companies!
Hi Kumar,
Thanks for the nice posts. Its very good and useful.
I have 7+ years of experience with a leading IT company in India (worked in onsite for 4 years) and worked with clients like JPMC, Target. I got my H1B and looking for a jump since I am getting less than 70k in my current job. My technology is J2EE & Oracle and I am quite strong in technical since I work as a design architect and also as developer. I have not done consulting before. Can you give me an ballpark estimate on how much should I mark as my billing rate if I go consulting and what percentage should I ask for?
I haven’t kept myself updated w/ consulting billing rates, but you can get a ballpark number by looking at relevant job postings on sites like dice, monster etc.
Hi Kumar,
I am on H1 b and looking for a H1 b for my husband. he is on h4.
I called many consultancies with regard to his h1. I dont get any calls back.
He is has 6 years of experience and is a Business Analyst. Can you please help me in finding a consultancy or any employer who can help us get H1. We are ready to pay for it also.
Please help.
Thanks
We usually don’t recommend any companies on this forum. Few places where you can find sponsoring employers:
- job sites like dice monster
- your network of friends and colleagues
- past H-1 filings (on flcdatacenter) which could give you an idea of who have sponsored H-1s in the past
However, make sure to vet each employer as not all are reputable.
Hi,
H1B Premium. My case had RFE and USCIS updated on May 4 2011 with Response Review. Even now, whether my case would be considered as premium and processed within 15 days? its been a week since the review status.
Yes, it will be considered as premium. Generally, in PP cases online statuses are not updated frequently, and I won’t be surprised if it goes directly into post decision status or your employer receives the email about the decision.
What is the range salary for a QA? (Quality Assurance Analyst), I have my major degree in IT, and experience of almost 2 years, hope you could help me clarifying this in order to get a good deal. Thanks
Ballpark estimates:
- Manual tester: ~60K USD
- Automated tester: ~80K USD
Actual numbers may depend upon company, work location etc. Check out the website glassdoor.com.
Hi guys, this site is very informative. I need clarification regarding my H1B case too. The current H1B for the company I am working at present is valid till April 2013 as per the notice of action (approved petition + extension of stay). However, the visa stamp on my passport from my previous company and the corresponding I-94 attached to passport expire in Sept 2011. Can you please clarify if I have to “mandatorily” go to India to get visa stamping for the new approved H1B before Sept 2011, which is the expiry of the previous 1-94 attached to my passport? Thanks.
You must have received an I-94 attached to the bottom of the extended petition. If you did, then you can continue to stay in US until that date w/o the necessity of going out of US. After that date, you either need to file another extension, or go out of country.
However, note that next time you leave US, you need to get H-1 visa stamped in order to re-enter US on H-1.
Thanks for clarifying this Saurabh.
Hello Saurabh, thanks for posting your replies. I have one question on the information that you have mentioned above.
If I have an approved HI-B Visa with me & if I go back to India for like a month & then come back to US then also I have to get the H1 stamping again in India. Will the previous H1 won’t be valid to re-enter US. Do we need to again find a consultancy back in India to process our H1 or this time the process will be bit different since we already had a H1. Thanks in advance.
There are two things – 797 and visa stamp. To return back to US, you need to have an unexpired H-1 visa stamp and it doesn’t matter which employer it is through. Also, to return back and work on H-1, you need to have an unexpired 797 from the employer you are planning to work w/.
So if you plan to return to US and work for the same employer w/ whom you currently have an approved unexpired 797, then you don’t need to worry about any new 797. However, if you plan to return to US and work for a different employer w/ whom you don’t have an approved unexpired 797, then you need to go for H-1 transfer.
Does that answer your question?
Hello
Thanks for these useful insights.
I have a tricky scenario. My H1B visa is valid for the next 6 months. I havent travelled on H1b before, and I am being asked by my employer to travel now. However, on the basis of my earlier communications and experiences with the employer, I feel there is a 50% chance that they’ll will file for the visa extension. If such a scenario arises, kindly suggest what should be my backup plan. I am confident of getting another job, but what might be the complications involved, and will there be enough time to file for a visa transfer and extension through a new organization. Also I am bound by a 2 year employment contract. Will it still hold valid if they dont file for an extension and I am forced to look for another job ? Please suggest.
Thanks
H-1 transfer wouldn’t be a problem provided you maintain legal status in US after landing here. That means getting paid all the while even when on bench. Being out of status may raise complications during the transfer.
Bonded labor is prohibited in US. Your employer cannot force you to stay w/ them for 2 years. They might sue you, but the court will only award them reasonable business damages. They just can’t demand for any arbitrary number like 10,000 USD.
Hi,
Thanks for the wonderful info. I have one question:
1. I am a full time employee with an American Company and planning to switch for Desi Consultancy because of immigration issues.
a)I am looking for 80-20 rate. How can I get that in writing from the employer,because I have heard zillion complaints of desi consultancies backing off?
b) I am quite knowledgeable in my area and can easily find projects. All I need from desi consultancy is to do payroll and paperwork. Since, this will be my first time with desi consultancy, i have following question:
Suppose I work on 80-20 for Company A and get a gig by Company B (staffing) for $60/hr. Do I need to pay Company B also out of $60 or will it be $48 myself and $12 Company A? Please answer. thanks
a) You can have that documented as part of your offer letter. However, I would encourage you to have them mention other benefits as well, as in who will be responsible for them, including health insurance, dental insurance, 401k, holidays etc. At times companies agree to 80-20 split and then pass on all the health insurance cost to the employee (to increase their portion)
b) Typically 80-20 split would happen of what your employer is receiving from the other company, and not what client is paying outward. For example, client would pay $100 per hour, staffing companies and other vendors in b/w would keep $40 of those, and your company gets $60 per hour. Out of this, there will be a 80-20 split, and you would receive 80% of $60.
Actually I am working on 80/20. But in my case I find my own projects. So I also negotiate on the rate as well and not my employer. Only after confirming the rate I pass to my employer if I am selected. For example if I agree to work with that vendor for $125, I get $100 and my employer $25. No problems with my employer
Hi Kumar, Thanks for all the posts with excellent info. I was wondering if you could throw some light on some good consulting companies. All the reviews and information about consultants and consulting companies (desi) that we hear are negative. Are there are any good companies which you know of, or, through any of your contacts? If so, do post them here – it sure would help millions of readers, and definitely many would find it useful, and may even help change their paths.
AK,
Unfortunately, I do not recommend or endorse anyone due to various complexities….I understand, it might be helpful…But, it is too much of responsibility to recommend or endorse someone…Sorry !
Kumar, Thanks a million yaar. I’m learning a lot from your site.
Of course i’ll be back with quite a few questions soon!!
My qualification is 3 yrs diploma after 10+2 and I have 7 years of experience in networking . Now , Am I eligible for H1B?
Bharat, I am afraid, you may not be eligible. You need a 4 year bachelors degree or 3 years for every year of education. Check USICIS website for more details.
Hi Kumar, after studying on many websites I found that if a person may obtain an educational equivalence through a combination of education and relevant work experience .
If a person have 3 yrs Diploma in engg after 10+2 and then he need more 3 yrs of exp to equivalent of 4 yrs. of bachelor degree.
Yes, you are right. I was not clear on your diploma, I assumed you did it right after 10th class. As you said, you need a four year bachelors degree or combination of 3 year bachelor equivalent degree + 3 years experience to equate that one year.
excellent materials for H1b holders..