For a person employed on H-1B status in the US, a layoff means he/she has to find another employer to transfer the H-1B right away, or be ready to leave the US. The first option would seem an uphill task in the current economic scene and the second option is an unpleasant one.
Since most US employers intending to layoff H1B employees have the intention to hire them back when the economy possibly turns around in say 6 to 9 months, changing the H-1B position to a part-time 1 makes sense.
This way, the employers can keep the persons on payroll but at a lower salary proportionate to reduced working hours. USCIS rules permit this, and all it takes is a USCIS approval of an amendment petition. For such petitions only the basic filing fee ($320) is payable if an extended validity is not asked for.
Some employers ask the question whether they can file such amendment petitions changing the number of hours to a nominal Five hours per week. We discourage this because USICS will most likely deny such a petition or bombard the employer with a Request for Evidence (RFE). The ability of the H-1B employee to support himself/herself (and dependents, if any) at such a drastically reduced wage level would be the most obvious question.
We always advise our clients to change the working hours to Fifteen to Twenty per week, provided such reduced hours would pay the employees enough to support themselves (and there dependents, if any) in the US.
Copyright: The Law Offices of Morley J. Nair, Inc.
Morley J. Nair is the Founder of The Law Offices of Morley J. Nair, located in Philadelphia, PA, practicing Immigration Law in all the Fifty states. The firm has processed 1,000's of H-1Bs and hundreds of employment-based immigrant visas. Attorney Nair offers a free 10-minute consultation to prospective clients! The law firm websites are http://www.visaworks.com and http://www.h1bplanet.com.