US lawmakers write to immigration agency on impact of massive layoffs in tech sector

Expressing concern over the large-scale layoffs within the tech business, a bunch of lawmakers from Silicon Valley has written to the US immigration company to make sure that the highly-skilled immigrants on H-1B visas, probably the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, can stay within the nation even after shedding their jobs.

Thousands of extremely expert foreign-born employees, together with Indians, within the US, have misplaced their jobs as a result of sequence of latest layoffs at firms like Google, Microsoft and Amazon. According to US media reviews, practically 200,000 IT employees have been laid off since November final 12 months.

Industry insiders say that between 30 to 40% of them are Indian IT professionals, a major variety of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas.

Also learn | Layoffs in 2023: Walmart, Accenture, Indeed amongst newest corporations to chop jobs amid financial turmoil

In their letter Ur Mendoza Jaddou, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the lawmakers famous that this group of immigrants possess expertise which can be extremely invaluable in as we speak’s knowledge-based financial system and “forcing them to leave the US is harmful to our nation’s long-term economic competitiveness.”

The letter has been despatched by Congressmen Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna, Jimmy Panetta and Kevin Mullin. Lofgren has been a former Chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

“This issue is of great importance to our constituents because layoffs in the tech sector have accelerated in recent months. The number of tech jobs lost since the beginning of 2023 has already surpassed the total number of layoffs in 2022,” the letter stated. It additionally requests that the USCIS launch information detailing the affect of the layoffs on affected immigrants; inquire about whether or not the USCIS has issued steering to adjudicators in response to the layoffs; and lengthen the 60-day grace interval for laid-off H-1B holders to safe a brand new job earlier than shedding their authorized standing.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US firms to make use of overseas employees in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical experience.

Technology firms rely upon it to rent tens of hundreds of workers annually from nations like India and China.

The lawmakers requested the USCIS director to offer particulars of roughly what number of H-1B visa holders have efficiently maintained authorized standing after shedding their jobs and what number of have departed the nation or accrued illegal presence.

“We ask that you share any relevant data with us so we can better understand the impact of the layoffs,” based on the letter.

“What are the approval and denial rates, broken down by visa category, for newly unemployed H-1B holders who have applied for the nonimmigrant visas listed in the December 19th USCIS fact sheet? Considering unemployed H-1B holders only have a limited 60-day window to secure a new visa, we request that you release this data publicly so these individuals can make informed decisions about which visas to apply for,” it stated.

The lawmakers requested roughly how lengthy it takes for the USCIS to course of visa purposes submitted by newly unemployed H-1B holders.

“While individuals are legally allowed to remain in the US as their visa applications are pending, we’re concerned about the potential consequences of processing times that exceed the 60-day grace period,” the lawmakers stated of their letter.

In such instances, immigrants will likely be required to depart the nation instantly if their visa purposes are denied, they stated.

“This situation not only causes significant distress for the affected individuals but could also result in them accruing unlawful presence if it takes an extended period of time to get their affairs in order before departing the country. This could be held against them if they apply for a visa in the future,” the lawmakers wrote.

The Congressmen requested are newly unemployed H-1B holders penalised when making use of for B-1/B-2 customer visas?

“Because B-1/B-2 visas are intended for short-term visits to the US, we are concerned that adjudicators will deny visas to laid-off H-1B holders, many of whom have lived in the US for years, on the grounds that these individuals do not have sufficient ties to their home countries to demonstrate that they intend to leave the US once their visas expire,” they stated.

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