Tag Archives: self-help

Work in the USA

Checklist for H1B Layoff

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It will not be surprising if I did not create it, thanks to close to creating checklists at work. Because this checklist got 174 likes in the group it was originally posted. I am adding it here for reference.

If you are H1B who are laid off

1. Ask them to keep you in payroll until end of severance pay
2. Ask for last day of work per H1B
3. Ask if they can transfer you to another country office if they have any
4. Ask if they can permit you work in reduced work load (part time) H1B so that you can get time in the USA to find a new job, reason with them that 60 days to find a job in these times is a challenge
5. Ask for employment verification letter to be used in later immigration paperwork
6. Ask for point of contact for all questions after layoff
7. Get recommendations from co-workers in LinkedIn
8. Get atleast 3 references’ email and phone number, check with them if they will act as reference for your job search. Thank them
9. Go fast in job search app-ing and networking, and contacting recruiters in your field as fast as possible
10. Keep up the good hope and defer payments for car, house/rent, credit card, insurance by calling each of them and tell them of the situation
11. Be ready to add a trusted person’s name on car/house so they can handle any later sales, in case you have to exit
12. Look for Change of status (COS) option to F1 or B2 anyways.
13. Be positive

 

There is one more point to be checked, which is the most important one.

14. Health insurance

Companies would mention COBRA as an insurance program that can be used during the unemployment period. This can be used for the limited period that will be mentioned in your severance and COBRA accounts. This may be used as an option, until a better one opens up with another employer who will sponsor H1B visa through transfer/ consular. Since this varies from person to person. It is tough to say.

If you can get on spouse’s  or other insurance, it is better to  get on to that. If company is opting to pay for the premium during COBRA. That is also an option. Important factor is to call and check with the insurance company and see if you have to enroll and make any payments. This will take a lot of patient conversations.

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Work in the USA

Options when India is Locked Down for USA H1B Visa laid offs

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Disclaimer: These are only random collected data from here and there. Refer USCIS website for correct information. Use attorney for legal options. The following is written for my reference.

Change of status: You do not accrue illegal presence when change of status is pending

Link to I-539 : https://www.uscis.gov/i-539

  1. H1 to H4 : If you have a spouse on H1
  2. H1 to F1:  If you get I-20 (certificate of visa eligibility) from a school
  3. H1 to B2: Change to visitor visa, start date to begin right after H1 grace period ends\

It is unfortunate to see many Indian website publish false news on H1B laid off and extension period. Always check USCIS and other Government websites for correct and up-to-date information.

Book Review, Review

Blinked

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Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without ThinkingBlink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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I picked this up a second time. Thanks to Buffalo-Erie Public Library System for providing this free facility.

Blink takes the reader through some case studies and associated case studies on snap-judgements and its base on expertise, prejudice and autonomous nervous system.

It was interesting to wonder if some Kathakali artists could collaborate for the facial action coding system. For the uninformed Kathakali is an old art form mixing drama and dance, action and emotions. Kathakali artists spend a lot of effort in efficiently enacting the required dramatic sequences based on Indian (Hindu) mythology. It takes equal amount of effort from the audience to understand the performance. This art form is considered to be the height of acting. It is also an old saying in Kerala that face is the mirror of mind (മുഖം മനസ്സിന്റെ കണ്ണാടി). And blink re-affirms that mind reading (read face-reading) is for real.

Malcolm also says about well educated people doing blink judgements and actions which may be right or may not be right based on the habits built by exercise. While the policemen killed Diallo because of their bad exercise, and Paul Ekman could judge facial expressions to predict the nature and behavior of persona by good practice. Musical experts picked up good music performed behind the screen and also got dissatisfied by seeing a woman performing trombone , when the screen was removed later, due to prejudice of expecting only males perform high quality trombone.

In the afterword, Malcolm wishes to urge the US American jury system to adopt the “screen” to avoid prejudice in official judgement that may creep in due to the jury system of USA. This brings in a question about the jury system itself. The world class movie “Rustom” vividly portrays and adaptation of real story that used the last jury system based judgement that happened in India. I was wondering why the system was restricted to judgement by judge alone in India. If USA uses jury system that must be good. Ain’t it ? Blink reassures me that definitely, well educated individuals in jury hardly know legality and constitution. They are influenced by their prejudices and what the they feed themselves a.k.a media and opinions as demonstrated in the actual court case which inspired the movie “Rustom”.

In this same way, as a reader, I would have to read people by face, I can know their mind. Let rationality take over instead of pre-judgement in case of confrontation and confusion. Let me be guided in the right direction as the Gayatri Mantra states.