Many Indian IT professionals have been laid off by companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google etc., in recent months. They are now trying to find work within the time frame set out in their visas.
In the News
According to the Washington Post, almost 200,000 IT workers were laid off between November 2022 and Jan 2023. This includes record numbers in companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Microsoft.
According to industry insiders, 30-40% are Indian IT professionals. A significant number are on L1 and H-1B visas.
H-1B visas are non-immigrant visas that allow US companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring technical or theoretical expertise. Technology companies use it to hire thousands of workers each year from China and India primarily and many other countries.
L-1A/L-1B visas for intracompany transfers are available to temporary employees with managerial or specialized positions.
Many Indian IT professionals are on non-immigrant visas such as H-1B or L1. They are looking for ways to stay in the US and find new jobs within their time to obtain these visas.
H-1B visa holders are facing worsening economic conditions. They must find a job within 60 days, or they will be forced to return to India.
With all IT companies on a firing spree and lacking job opportunities, it is almost impossible to get a job.
This could have disastrous consequences for families, including the sale or disruption of children’s education and property sales. Tech companies should show extra consideration to H-1B workers and extend their termination dates by a few months as the job market is complex and the recruitment process can be slow.
Many have launched a community-wide effort to help these IT professionals connect job seekers with job referrers.
January 2023 was a brutal month for tech professionals, with massive layoffs in tech. Many skilled people lost their jobs. Indian immigrants dominate the tech industry and are most likely to be impacted.
H-1B holders laid off must find a sponsoring job within 60 days, or they will have to leave the country in 10 days.
This has a significant disruption on the family lives, children’s education, etc., on this tax-paying contributing legal immigrant. It would be beneficial to restructure the immigration process to support H-1B workers better and keep highly skilled talent in America.
The fired Indian IT workers are in deep distress and have created various WhatsApp groups to try to find a way out of their dire situation.
Current Scenario
There are over 800 Indian IT workers without jobs who circulate among themselves the vacancies in India. Another group has been discussing visa options with immigration lawyers offering consulting services. These circumstances have such a devastating impact on us immigrants and are nerve-wracking.
Google’s latest decision to halt Green Card processing is adding to the suffering of Indian IT professionals. They cannot argue before the USCIS that a foreign IT professional is needed to be a permanent resident at a time when they have already fired thousands of employees. Others are expected to do the same.
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