bench period: when you don't have a project to work for but uscis wants u to get paid during that period while dhotis don't want to pay. also, most companies pay 90+ for the consultants, if he's paying you 60K then he's already taking his cut from your pay. but u can't really complain about that cuz thats the whole point of consultancy. I say, try to find a job on your own first, if nothing works out then go for consultancies. also if you know someone from your school or someone u know personally who have worked through consultancies, call them , looks like you're naive in this area and these dhotis are playing this game for long time.