Hi, 

In order to authorize my FMLA leave of absence back in November, my
employer has forced me - under threat of layoff & reporting to the INS
- to sign a resignation dated at the end of my leave (02/21/2005).
I accepted out of fear of being out of status with the INS but now I
think I have been basically blackmailed into resigning.

DO I have any options?

Blackmail is generally illegal and under contract law, an agreement
signed under duress is void (i.e. it's 100% invalid).

However, the "beauty" (or rather, the frustration) of blackmail is
that if you are to sue him to void the agreement, your plight will
become public and the chance of the INS hearing of it is greater.

If you are truly in little or no danger of deportation, etc., I would
pursue your claims.  I would tell your employer that you believe
you've been blackmailed and then threaten to sue.  If the employer
won't back down, you can sue him in "small claims court" (or a court
of similar form) in your city or county.  That kind of court usually
(depending on the jurisdiction) doesn't allow attorneys and basically
lets you and your defendant argue your cases to a judge who will then
determine the result.  It's inexpensive and straightforward.

--Joey

Good answer Joey gave, however it does not prevent the judge from
alerting the INS.  Particularly if you are in the country illegally. 
Good Luck.

Just a thought... If the employer had the forethought to have a future
resignation letter signed, you probably had to sign a binding
arbitration agreement when you were hired.  So small claims is likely
not an option.  Like I said, just a thought.

If the contract included a clause requiring arbitration, it's still
void if signed under duress.  If it went to court, the first question
would have to be "was the agreement signed only under duress," because
if the court doesn't agree to that then the arbitration clause would
kick in.  If the court finds that the letter WAS signed under duress,
it'll throw out that clause as well.

--Joey

Many thanks for the thoughts & comments.

No arbitration clause; actually there is no contract, just a signed
offer letter before I started (Sep 03). For multiple reasons, I don't
think I would have an issue with the INS (but you never know!) so
suing is definitely an option for me, but it is unclear what I could
get out of it even if I won. I clearly do not want to go back to work
for them after this but I would like a proper settlement with a
severance.

Plus since the company has 2 inhouse lawyers, I definitly would need
legal counsel, even if they are not allowed inside the small claims
court.

So that leaves me with one question: how do you find a decent lawyer
in New York City (where I live) that is well versed into employment
laws.

A signed offer letter is a contract.  A "contract" isn't limited to
just documents that provide work for a set period of time.  Any
agreement that involves a promise from one side (i.e. to pay) in
exchange for another promise (i.e. to work) or for a specific action
(i.e. work) is a contract and governed by contract law.