Workers in the United States that holds temporary work visas are concerned with the given little time to find another job after several tech companies conducted layoffs this year.
Aside from the job search's limited time, it is reported that the previous companies were not giving laid-off employees adequate guidance.
MIAMI - JANUARY 19: Anthony Ramos, a Customs and Border Protection officer, checks Chris Layman, Katy Layman, 21 mths old, and Natalie Layman in at the passport control area January 19, 2007 at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida. Starting January 23, 2007 new passport regulation will require all travelers coming into the U.S. from Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico by air must have a passport. Travelers returning by land or sea will be required to show passports by January 1, 2008.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
(Photo : Joe Raedle/Getty Images) MIAMI - JANUARY 19: Anthony Ramos, a Customs and Border Protection officer, checks Chris Layman, Katy Layman, 21 mths old, and Natalie Layman in at the passport control area January 19, 2007 at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida. Starting January 23, 2007 new passport regulation will require all travelers coming into the U.S. from Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico by air must have a passport. Travelers returning by land or sea will be required to show passports by January 1, 2008.
Concerned Temporary Work Visa Holders
After several companies conducted layoffs mostly because of the economic situation, laid-off workers are left concerned about finding a new job, especially, temporary work visa holders or people who are included in the H-1B Program.
Based on a report from Bloomberg, these workers were only allowed to stay in the country unemployed for 60 days. If the deadline is surpassed and the laid-off workers were not able to find another job within the given two months, they will have to leave the country.
The reported workers who are left concerned were compiled by former employees of Meta and Twitter. Through this, it revealed that 350 immigrants are currently affected by the layoffs.
They are part of the more than 42,000 affected tech workers in the country, which will make it harder for them to enter a new work, now that the labor market is newly competitive.
These resulted in laid-off workers finding a way for them to stay in the country like directly appealing on job searching websites, generating threads, citing job openings globally, and crowdsourcing spreadsheets and referrals.
According to Forbes, two third of the thousands of laid-off workers come from four companies: Meta, Amazon, Cisco, and Twitter, with 20-30% foreign nationals affected. Some of the mentioned companies were aggressively hiring before, which might be the reason for job cuts.
The H-1B program allows employers in the country to recruit foreign workers with college degrees in specific fields that they needed. These visas are issued to foreigners for three years that might be extended depending on the situation.
The United States allows 85,000 people to be included in this program every year, and given the current situation, the demand is high. The US Department of Labor reported that the median salary for these workers was $106,000, with tech companies having higher wages that were about $175,000 (not including bonuses and stock options).
If workers failed to find a new job, companies must pay H-1B workers to return to their home country. Some companies also offered support for immigrants as they find new jobs.
According to past employees from Twitter who were holding temporary visas, the company provided them little assistance but was not clear regarding the start of the 60-day grace period. When asked by the employees to clarify their situation, the company suggested finding their own lawyers for them to understand the law.
Meanwhile, Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the aftermath of downsizing its company by laying off 11,000 of its workers.
He stated, "I know this is especially difficult if you're here on a visa. There's a notice period before termination and some visa grace periods, which means everyone will have time to make plans and work through their immigration status. We have dedicated immigration specialists to help guide you based on what you and your family need."
