I have been working for a consultancy under H-1b , but I have been on bench period for the last 4 months. Now I have decided to go to India for a break. But a few days back my consultancy told me that they want to transfer some money to my a/c and that I will have to return it back to them as cash – they however said it is only a must if I later return to the US by going for visa stamping & continuing with the consultancy. The reason they want to do the money transfer is because the immigration will check the bank balances and see if I have obtained salary for the four months that I was on bench.
However, now that I plan to leave the consultancy, they are going to cancel my H-1 visa & they say it is not necessary to do that transfer. My question is should I listen to my employer and do as they say? If I refuse, then will I get into any legal trouble later on when I plan to come to the US in the future?