FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

About H-1B Visa Sponsorship

1. Does Comtek help to buy health and dental  insurance?

A current Comtek Policy for all employees is:

Comtek will pay a half of your (and your family) medical insurance. A cost of medical insurance can vary and depends on a family size. In 2007 a monthly cost of medical insurance at Comtek was

  
You will pay 50% of this cost. Of course it is your decision to buy the medical insurance or not.

2. Is a 401K plan available to the Comtek staff?
   
Not at this time. It existed some years ago but because most of Comtek employees are relatively young people who are not thinking about retirement yet, this idea has died.

3. Does Comtek pay airfare to the US for an Employee and his spouse
   
Comtek will pay for relocations (airfare) of you and your family.

4. What about Holidays?

You will work as a consultant for our Clients. And you will have the same days off as Client’s employees.

As a rule all major holidays like Independence Day,  Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so on are days off. Some holidays like Presidents’ Day can be also days off in some companies. Number of days off for major holidays can also vary depending on a company.

5. What about Overtime payment?

You can not work on holidays, weekends, or overtime hours without a Client’s request.
The Client’s request specifies payment type (holiday, overtime, and so on). If Client pays Comtek, Comtek will pay you.  

6. What kind of employment does the contract refer to - W-2 or 1099?

    W-2

7. Does Comtek help to apply for a Green Card?

Yes, Comtek provides a support in Green card processing. You can stay up to 6 years in the US with H-1B visa.

8. Does the salary paid by Comtek have government taxes already substracted?

You will pay taxes from your  salary (showed in the contract). Taxes are approximately 20-22% from your salary and depend on amount of your income and your family size. Taxes include income tax, Medicare tax, and Social Security tax. The 2 last ones go to provide medical and financial support for you after retirement (like Russian pension). When you get your bi-weekly check  taxes will be already substracted from your check.

9.Does your company help your applicants with job placement,

Of course, Comtek, not you, will be looking for a job for you.

10. Can I call my family to the US? As my son does not know English, is there an opportunity to learn him in a Russian school?
  
Yes, your family can arrive with you, but usually families arrive 3-4 monts later after you (after your accomodation). There is no Russian schools in Chicago area. Kids go to English schools without any language problem. In Chicago there is also a school for gifted kids of Russian and Polish origin.

11. If COMTEK begins my H1B visa processing, would my foreign passport be with the US embassy all the time during the process? This info is relevant because I might have business trips (on behalf of my current place of work) scheduled to US and some European countries in April or May, although I don't know for sure.

Your passport is needed only during your visit to  US Embassy to get a visa that usually required 1-2 days.

12. What type of Green Card application does Comtek support for its H-1B employees (EB2 or EB3)?

EB2