For years, the biggest technology brands have staffed their workforces with thousands of H-1B workers. But as a possible recession looms, many businesses are starting to lay off workers, putting people who have this visa in a tough spot, JEE News reports.
In total, Twitter, Meta, Amazon, and Cisco have revealed plans to lay off thousands of workers. Meta alone fired 11,000 people while Twitter reportedly let go 7,500 people. A number of smaller startups are also downsizing significantly. H-1B employees who are targeted by HR may have 60 days to find new employment. If they miss this deadline, they will have to leave the country. However, an H-1B worker may try to apply for a different visa, such as a student visa, depending on their circumstances.
Demand for H-1B visas in the tech industry was seen throughout the year despite growing concerns about economic uncertainty. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), employers submitted 483,000 H-1B registrations for fiscal year 2023, a 57 percent increase from fiscal year 2022. About 127,600 registrants were selected by lottery.
However, a downturn in the economy could reduce both that demand and the desire of some foreign workers to work in the US IT sector.
“Will it create a chilling effect for the tech sector by making it less attractive to high-skilled, highly talented foreign workers?” Ali Brody, a partner at Focus Rothschild LLP, expressed surprise when speaking to Bloomberg Law. “Will it send those foreign workers elsewhere, away from America? That’s the inquiry we should be making.”
Anyone who opposes the H-1B system will welcome a reduction in visa demand. Critics say the visas are misused to obtain cheap skilled labor, particularly by consulting and business service firms that outsource H-1B workers to other businesses.
The H-1B program has been the subject of reform and/or ban proposals from the Trump and Biden administrations, though neither has been able to completely overhaul the system.
The H-1B employer-employee relationship could be redefined under a long-overdue USCIS plan (now scheduled for May 2023) that would require employer site visits and F-1 students’ status H -1B will also update regulations related to migration.
H-1B workers affected by the recent furloughs will need to work quickly to find a new job, although given how low the overall unemployment rate in technology is right now, they may not be able to do so until their 60s. Don’t be able to. Daytime limit.
