Laid-off Indian IT professionals looking for options to stay in US

According to The Washington Post, nearly 200,000 IT workers have been laid off since last November, including some record numbers at companies such as Google, MicrosoftFacebook and Amazon.

News agency PTI, citing industry insiders, has reported that over 30 to 40 percent of Indian IT professionals in the US have been laid off. including a large number of H-1B and L1 visa holder,

What is H-1B and L1 visa?

h-1b visa Is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specific occupations requiring theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire thousands of employees every year from countries like India and China.

L-1A and L-1B visas are available to temporary intracompany transfers who work in managerial positions or have specialized knowledge.

A large number of Indian IT professionals, who are on non-immigrant work visas like H-1B, are L1 and are now scrambling for options to stay in the US. They are now struggling to find a new job within the stipulated few months time that they get under these foreign work visas after losing their job and also change their visa status.

Read also: US Investor Visa: Why are Indians queuing up for EB-5?

Amazon employee Geeta (name changed) came to America only three months back. This week he was told that March 20 would be his last working day, PTI reported.

The situation is getting worse for H-1B visa holders as they will have to find a new job within 60 days or else they will be left with no option but to go back to India.

As tech companies are on a spree of layoffs, it is impossible to get a job within that short span.

Read also: Tech Layoffs: 10 Tips for H1-B Visa Holders to Prevent Deportation from the US

Sita (name changed), another IT professional on H-1B visa, was terminated from Microsoft on January 18. She is a single mother. Her son is in his junior year of high school, preparing to enter college.

This situation is really tough on us, he told PTI.

“It is unfortunate that thousands of tech workers are facing layoffs, especially those on H-1B visas who are facing additional challenges as they will have to find a new job and risk being deported or leaving the country. Transfer your visa within 60 days,” said Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and community leader.

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“This can have devastating consequences for families, including sale of properties and disruption of children’s education. It would be beneficial for tech companies to give special consideration to H-1B workers and extend their expiration date by a few months, as the job market and hiring process can be challenging.”

The Global Indian Technology Professionals Association (GITPRO) and the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) on Sunday launched a community-wide effort to try and help these IT professionals by connecting job seekers with job referrers and informants. did. FIIDS will work on US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) efforts to influence policy makers and decision makers.

“With massive layoffs in the tech industry, January 2023 has been brutal for tech professionals. Many talented people lost their jobs. As the tech industry is dominated by Indian expatriates, they are the most to be affected,” Khande Rao Kand said.

Removed H-1B holders must find an H-1B sponsoring job within 60 days or leave within 10 days of being terminated.

Khande Rao Kand of FIIDS said, “This tax-paying and legal immigrant’s contribution has caused huge disruption on family life and children’s education etc.” Bhutoria said it would be beneficial to redesign the immigration process to better support H-1B workers and retain highly skilled talent in the US.

These laid-off Indian IT workers have created various WhatsApp groups to find solutions to their dire situation. One of the WhatsApp groups has over 800 unemployed Indian IT workers circulating the vacancies among themselves. country.

In another group, they are discussing various visa options, along with some immigration lawyers who have volunteered their consulting services during this time.

“These situations have such a devastating effect on us immigrants and it is nerve-wracking. We are a bit lost,” said Rakesh (name changed) who was dropped from Microsoft on Thursday. He is in the US on an H-1B visa.

Adding to the woes of these professionals is Google’s latest decision to put their green card processing, This is mainly because, at a time when he has laid off thousands of employees, he cannot be seen arguing before USCIS that they need a foreign IT professional as a permanent resident. Other companies are also expected to follow suit.

The Observer reported that the pause would not affect current or upcoming applications for other visa types, according to Google, which said it would continue to support PERM applications. So what is perm? Employers in the US must often begin the process by obtaining a “labor certification” (LC) from the Department of Labor (DOL) in order for foreign workers to apply for permanent residency. The PERM application is the first step before engaging in the process of obtaining a “Green Card”.

Whereas, on January 17, the United States of america Informed that there has been significant progress in the issuance of business visas to Indians and there has been a marked improvement in the issuance of H1Bs. As travel resumed soon after the pandemic, there were serious challenges with regard to the issuance of visas. However, the US said it has taken several steps, such as increasing the number of staff, to further facilitate the process.

(With inputs from PTI)