H-1B Horror Story: Worker Unpaid for 11 Months

H-1B Worker Raises Unpaid Salary Issue

An H-1B worker recently took to Reddit to ask for advice on their horrible situation. The worker has not been paid a salary since October 2025.

They had transitioned from an F-1 OPT to an H-1B visa with the same employer. The worker says that his boss initially said it’d take time to set up a payroll.

They promised to pay salary from January 2026. However, the worker was only paid for projects, and not their full salary.

Their boss claimed that what they received was their full salary, unless they moved to a different project. This is in clear violation of their Labour Condition Application (LCA), which lists a different wage.

With the job market in the US suffering finding a different employer or converting to a vendor has been impossible. Even when the worker found a willing employer, their current job has a two-year no-compete contract.

This makes switching to the new employer impossible.

Now 11 months without pay, the worker fears that they may be out of visa status. They ask for advice on whether a Department of Labor complaint will help.

Experts have said to immediately contact a lawyer regarding their situation. As their employer has violated the H-1B wage requirements, the contract binding them may be rendered null.

This shows a wider trend of H-1B workers being exploited across America. With fears of deportation, many are afraid to even speak up against such actions.