California, United States · employment

Can My Employer Make Me Pay Back Visa Fees If I Quit in California?

Under California's groundbreaking AB 692 and federal immigration laws, employers are generally prohibited from forcing workers to repay visa or green card sponsorship costs when they quit. If your employer is demanding repayment or threatening to deduct visa fees from your pay, you have strong legal protections to fight back.

What the Law Says in California

In California, your employer is strictly prohibited from forcing you to pay back visa or immigration sponsorship fees if you decide to leave your job. Effective January 1, 2026, California Assembly Bill 692 (AB 692) enacted powerful new worker protections codified in California Business and Professions Code Section 16608 and Labor Code Section 926. This law renders any contract provision that requires a worker to repay visa and immigration costs upon separation entirely void and unenforceable as an unlawful restraint on trade.

For agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2026, 'stay-or-pay' provisions—including visa fee repayments, training repayment agreement provisions (TRAPs), and relocation clawbacks—are completely illegal from the moment you sign them. This means your employer cannot sue you to collect these debts, nor can they threaten to hold your visa status hostage over a financial penalty.

If your agreement was signed before January 1, 2026, you are still heavily protected by federal immigration laws. Under federal rules, such as 20 CFR Section 655.731(c)(9), standard H-1B petition and attorney fees are legally classified as employer business expenses. Shifting these costs to the employee is considered an illegal wage deduction that violates the requirement to pay required wages 'free and clear'. Similarly, for permanent residency (Green Cards), 20 CFR Section 656.12(b) strictly prohibits employers from making employees pay for any portion of the PERM labor certification process, including attorney fees.

The Legal Remedies and Penalties for Violation

Employers who try to ignore these protections face steep financial penalties. Under California Labor Code Section 926, any employer who requires an employee to sign a prohibited repayment agreement or attempts to enforce a void stay-or-pay clause is liable to the affected worker. You can recover your actual financial losses or a statutory penalty of $5,000—whichever is greater—plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

Additionally, California Labor Code Section 221 makes it illegal for an employer to collect or receive any part of wages previously paid to an employee. This means an employer cannot unilaterally deduct disputed visa fees from your final paycheck. Doing so is a serious wage theft violation that can trigger waiting time penalties under Labor Code Section 203, adding up to 30 days of your normal daily wage for each day your final paycheck is wrongfully withheld.

What You Can Do Next

If your employer or HR department is pressuring you to sign a repayment agreement, or if they are demanding thousands of dollars in visa fees before you resign, you do not have to give in to their intimidation. Document everything. Save copies of your employment offer, any visa-related addendums, and all written demands or emails from HR regarding the repayment. Do not sign any exit agreements, severance releases, or 'repayment schedule' forms on the spot, as employers often try to use these to bypass the law and lock you into a voluntary debt.

You can use Caunsel to research your rights under California's evolving labor laws, save your employment documents in a secure case file, or connect with an independent California employment lawyer who can review your immigration agreements and help you prepare a strategic response to HR.

Steps

• Locate and download your original offer letter, immigration addendums, and any written agreements referencing visa or green card sponsorship.
• Preserve all evidence of repayment demands, including saving emails, text messages, and written notices from HR to a personal device.
• Politely decline to sign any exit agreements or authorization forms that allow the employer to deduct visa fees from your final paycheck.
• Use Caunsel to organize your files, review your legal options, and request a consultation with an independent California employment attorney.

Common mistakes

• Signing an exit agreement or payment schedule out of panic, which might create a new, separate contract that the employer will attempt to enforce.
• Verbally agreeing to let the employer withhold your final paycheck or vacation payout to cover the visa costs.
• Assuming pre-2026 agreements are fully valid and ignoring federal immigration bans on H-1B and PERM cost-shifting.

Questions people ask

Does California's ban on visa repayment clauses apply to agreements signed before 2026?

The specific statutory penalties under AB 692 (Labor Code Section 926) apply to agreements executed on or after January 1, 2026. However, agreements signed before 2026 are still subject to strict federal regulations (such as 20 CFR Section 655.731 and 20 CFR Section 656.12) which have long banned shifting H-1B petition costs and PERM green card fees to workers, as well as California's strong non-compete laws under Business and Professions Code Section 16600.

Can my employer deduct visa fees from my final paycheck when I quit?

Absolutely not. Under California Labor Code Section 224, employers cannot deduct disputed debts or business expenses from your paycheck without explicit, voluntary written authorization. Even with a signed agreement, doing so violates California's strict wage theft laws and can entitle you to waiting time penalties under Labor Code Section 203.

Are there any visa fees that my employer can legally make me pay back?

Under federal rules, you may only be responsible for 'premium processing' fees if you specifically requested premium processing solely for your own personal convenience (such as personal travel plans) rather than for the business needs of the employer. Standard filing fees, fraud prevention fees, and the employer's legal representation fees must always be paid by the employer.

General information only, last updated 2026-10-04. Caunsel is not a law firm and does not practise law. AI answers and this guide are not legal advice. Verify filings, deadlines, and statutes with a licensed lawyer in California, United States.