Description
The new year comes with new hope and happiness, but for some this year is not a good one, as many lost their jobs in the US. Thousands of Indian IT professionals in the US, who have lost their jobs due to a series of recent layoffs at companies including Google, Microsoft and Amazon, are now struggling to find new employment within the period stipulated on their work visas. after the termination of their employment to remain in the country. Nearly 200,000 IT workers have been laid off since November of last year, including some record numbers at companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon. According to some industry experts, 30 to 40 percent of them are Indian IT professionals, a significant number of whom hold H-1B and L1 visas.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialized occupations that require theoretical or technical knowledge. Tech companies rely on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The L-1A and L-1B visas are available to intracompany transferees who work in management positions or have specialized knowledge. A significantly large number of Indian IT professionals, who hold non-immigrant work visas like H-1B and L1, are now fighting for options to stay in the US to find a new job in the stipulated few months they get under these work abroad visas after losing their jobs and changing their visa status as well. Deeply distraught, laid off Indian IT workers have formed various WhatsApp groups to find ways to find a solution to the dire situation they find themselves in. In one of the WhatsApp groups, there are more than 800 unemployed Indian IT workers circulating among them. vacancies appearing in the country. In another group, they have been discussing various visa options, with some immigration attorneys volunteering to offer their consulting services during this time. Adding to the miseries of Indian IT professionals is Google's latest decision to pause their Green Card processing. This is mainly because, at a time when they have laid off thousands of employees, you cannot see them arguing to USCIS that they need a foreign IT professional as a permanent resident. Other companies are expected to do the same.
