The red flags that matter
Below the prevailing wage. The employer's LCA promises at least the prevailing wage for your SOC code and worksite. An offer under that floor is the clearest sign something is wrong — and for H-1B, E-3, and H-1B1 it may be an LCA violation. Check the exact figure yourself instead of taking a recruiter's word.
Unpaid 'bench' time. If pay only starts 'when you're on a project,' that's a problem: an H-1B employer generally owes the required wage even in nonproductive status (waiting for an assignment), not just for billable hours. 'Pay starts at project' is a classic bench trap.
Fee-shifting and stay-or-pay. Being asked to pay or 'reimburse' the H-1B petition, ACWIA, or fraud-prevention fees is a red flag — several of these are the employer's legal obligation. A large penalty for leaving early (a training-repayment 'TRAP') can function as an unlawful deduction and locks you into a bad situation.
How to verify before you sign
Run the offered salary through the prevailing-wage check for your SOC code and worksite, read the employer's public USCIS/DOL record (filing history, denial rate, LCA wage levels), and paste the offer clauses into the trap detector to see which patterns they resemble. None of this is a verdict — it's evidence you can act on and questions you can ask in writing.
Get the specifics in writing: the SOC code and wage level on your LCA, the worksite address, who signs your paycheck, and what happens between projects. Vague answers to concrete questions are themselves a signal.
Frequently asked
- Is a low offer illegal or just bad?
- For H-1B, E-3, and H-1B1, pay below the prevailing wage for your role and area can be an LCA violation, and back wages are recoverable. For OPT and other statuses there's no legal wage floor, but a below-market offer is still a strong negotiating signal.
- What should I do if I spot these red flags?
- Ask for the details in writing and verify the wage against the DOL data yourself. If pay is below the floor and isn't corrected, you can file a confidential WH-4 complaint with the DOL Wage and Hour Division.