employment visa
How can I sue an empolyer for immigration status discrimination?
<p>My situation is as follows:</p>

<p>I interviewed with a prestigious financial service company in downtown NYC.
A few days after my onsite, the head recruiter gave me a call saying "Congrats!" they would extend me an offer. Then they asked my visa status and whether I need H1B sponsorship. I replied "I will need H1B sponsorship in the future."</p>

<p>After a few days the company pulled back the verbal offer because they do not want to sponsor H1B for this role.</p>

<p>Is it a discrimination?</p>

<p>It is discrimination. However, it is legal, and generally not grounds for a lawsuit.</p>

<p>Discrimination is legal, except when it is based upon certain specific categories, such as race, sex, and religion. For example, it is perfectly legal to discriminate for a position based on the possession of education degrees, skill certification or availability to work specific hours or days of the week.</p>

<p>Immigration status (and specifically, needing a H1B sponsor in the future) is not a protected category, and as such it is legal to discriminate against this as a factor.</p>

<p>Additionally, there are several downsides for hiring a H1B candidate, and foremost of which is sponsoring someone for an H1B visa is not a sure thing, since the H1B system is run as a lottery; as such, you may not receive a visa or extension, and thus be ineligible to legally work.</p>
