I am here on a visa. I pay same tax as a citizen. Will I get unemployment benefits?
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I am here on a visa for 5 years. I will have to work in order to have a valid status. I pay the same rate of tax like any other citizen though I am not a citizen. I pay federal tax, social security, medicare which is deducted from pay. Whether I will be entitled for the benefits which a citizen gets like Social Security, unemployment? Note that I wont be here for long. I may have to leave the country after my visa period is over, say 5 years
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Answer:
If you are on an H1B visa, you are subject to fica/mc/FUTA just like a US citizen. You are in a slight abyss in that you are legally eligible to collect unemployment since you had a valid work visa when you are working, but the same visa requires you to work! You need a current work authorization in order to meet the "able and available to work" test to collect unemployment and the H-1B visa goes out of status when you are laid off. Consequently immigration views the end of your employment as the end of your right to be in the US. Even if your H-1B visa is good for 5 years, you would now be out of status and there is no grace period. If this is before the end of your contract, your employer is to pay your airfare home. Ignore the posts that tell you to file a s a non-resident or try to get your fica/mc taxes back. You *are* a resident if you meet the 183-day substantial presence test. Fica/MC is only refundable on student visas for the first 5 years. http://www.visalaw.com/01feb4/12feb401.html
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Other answers
If you are here on a H1B or similar visa that allows you to work only for the company that sponsored you, then you are not eligible for unemployment benefits. You are eligible for unemployment benefits only if you visa is of a type that allows you to work for any employer in the U.S., without sponsorship. The seemingly good news is that you will receive the same social security retirement benefit as a citizen who worked in the U.S. for the same number of years as you, earned the same amount as year, paid the same taxes as you, etc. The bad news is that, to receive any social security retirement benefits, a person born after 1925 must have worked in the U.S. during at least 10 different calendar years. This requirement is the same for citizens and non-citizens. Because you will work in the U.S. during fewer years, you will receive no social security retirement benefit, because that is what would happen to a citizen who worked in the U.S. for the same number of years as you.
StephenWeinstein
No. You aren't a citizen therefore you have no right to any benefits.
Kate
if you worked more than likely you can apply for unemployment when you work you should file out your W-4 as a non citizen and they will not withhold SS and Medicare during the 5 yrs you are here yes, you will have income taxes withheld and you file your returns every year as a resident alien
tro
Unemployment Insurance is paid by the EMPLOYER, not you. Has nothing to do with your tax withholding. AND depending on the type of VISA, you don't have the same withholding as American citizens. Check it out. And generally your Visa would require you to leave if you become unemployed. US unemployment insurance benefits are limited in term to 39 weeks. Not as generous as those in Europe and elsewhere.
chatsplas
As a non-citizen you can not receive unemployment. However your employer pays for that not you. As for Social Security and Medicare you may be able to recover that by filing a non-resident return. That can become a bit complex so you should review your visa status with a tax professional familiar with those issues.
Mathew
Depends upon your visa. If you're on an H1B or other non-immigrant guest worker visa you are limited to working for the sponsoring company. If you are terminated your visa is no longer valid and you must leave within a limited period of time. You're generally not eligible for unemployment compensation since you are not eligible to work for any other company and thefore don't meet the "available for work" criteria for unemployment compensation. To be eligible for Social Security benefits requires 10 years of creditable employment in the US. 5 years won't cut it. Those are the same rules as for US citizens.
Bostonian In MO
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