As per some business insiders, between 30 to 40 per cent of them are Indian IT professionals, a big variety of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US corporations to make use of international staff in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical experience. Technology corporations depend upon it to rent tens of hundreds of staff every year from nations like India and China.
L-1A and L-1B visas can be found for non permanent intracompany transferees who work in managerial positions or have specialised data.
A considerably massive variety of Indian IT professionals, who’re on non-immigrant work visas like H-1B are L1, at the moment are scrambling for choices to remain within the US to discover a new job within the stipulated few months time that they get below these international work visas after dropping their jobs and alter their visa standing as nicely.
Amazon staffer Gita (identify modified) arrived within the US solely three months in the past. This week she was informed that March 20 is her final working day.
Discover the tales of your curiosity
The scenario is getting worse for these on H-1B visas as they must discover a new job inside 60 days or else, they’d be left with no different possibility however to go again to India. Under present circumstances, when all IT corporations are on a firing spree, getting a job inside that quick interval, they really feel is subsequent to inconceivable.
Sita (identify modified), one other IT skilled on an H-1B visa, obtained laid off from Microsoft on January 18.
She is a single mom. Her son is in High School Junior 12 months, getting ready for entering into school.
“This situation is really hard on us,” she mentioned.
“It is unfortunate that thousands of tech employees are facing layoffs, particularly those on H-1B visas who are facing additional challenges as they must find a new job and transfer their visa within 60 days of termination or risk leaving the country,” Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and group chief Ajay Jain Bhutoria mentioned.
“This can have devastating consequences for families, including the sale of properties and disruptions to children’s education. It would be beneficial for tech companies to show special consideration for H-1B workers and extend their termination date by a few months, as the job market and recruitment process can be challenging,” he mentioned.
Global Indian Technology Professionals Association (GITPRO) and Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) on Sunday launched a community-wide effort to try to assist these IT professionals by connecting job seekers to job referrers and informers. FIIDS will work on efforts to affect policymakers and decision-makers of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“With massive layoffs in the tech industry, January 2023 has been brutal for tech professionals. Many talented folks lost their jobs. As the tech industry is dominated by Indian immigrants, they are the highest to get impacted,” Khande Rao Kand mentioned.
The laid-off H-1B holders want to search out an H-1B sponsoring job in 60 days or depart inside 10 days after turning into out of standing.
“This has a huge disruption on the family lives and children’s education etc on this tax-paying and contributing legal immigrant,” Khande Rao Kand from FIIDS mentioned. Bhutoria mentioned it could be helpful for the immigration course of to be redesigned to higher help H-1B staff and retain extremely expert expertise within the US.
In deep misery, the fired Indian IT staff have shaped varied WhatsApp teams to search out methods to have an answer to the horrible scenario they’re in.
In one of many WhatsApp teams, there are greater than 800 jobless Indian IT staff who’re circulating amongst themselves vacancies showing within the nation.
In one other group, they’ve been discussing varied visa choices, with some immigration attorneys who’ve volunteered to supply their consultancy providers throughout this time.
“These circumstances have such a devastating effect on us immigrants and are nerve-wracking. We are kinda lost,” mentioned Rakesh (identify modified) was laid off from Microsoft on Thursday. He is within the US on an H-1B visa.
Adding to the miseries of Indian IT professionals is the newest resolution of Google that they’re pausing their Green Card processing. This is primarily as a result of, at a time once they have fired hundreds of staff, they can’t be seen arguing earlier than the USCIS that they want a international IT skilled as a everlasting resident. Other corporations are anticipated to comply with the identical.