A US Presidential sub-committee has advised that the federal government extend the grace period for thousands of retrenched H-1B workers from the existing 60 days to 180 days so that they have enough opportunities to find a new job or other alternatives.
With the recent mass layoffs, thousands of highly skilled foreign-born workers have lost their jobs and are now struggling to find new employment. With just 60-day period under their work visas following the termination of their employme .
“The immigration subcommittee recommends the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the grace period for H-1B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days,” Ajay Jain Bhutoria, member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said on Tuesday.
In his presentation, Bhutoria highlighted the significant challenges faced by H-1B workers laid off from their jobs. The current 60-day grace period presents numerous hurdles, including finding a new job within a tight timeframe, complex paperwork for transferring H-1B status, and delays in processing at USCIS, he said.
Bhutoria, in his presentation, strongly advocated for the extension of the grace period, citing the need to support highly skilled tech employees who he said are essential.
According to The Washington Post, nearly 200,000 IT workers have been laid off since November last year, including some record numbers in companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.
As per some industry insiders, between 30 to 40 per cent of them are Indian IT professionals, a significant number of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas.
L-1A and L-1B visas are available for temporary intracompany transferees who work in managerial positions or have specialized knowledge.
