PTI

Washington, January 23

Thousands of Indian IT professionals within the US, who’ve misplaced their jobs because of the collection of latest layoffs at firms like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, at the moment are struggling to search out new employment inside the stipulated interval underneath their work visas following the termination of their employment to remain within the nation.

According to The Washington Post, practically 200,000 IT staff have been laid off since November final 12 months, together with some file numbers in firms like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.

As per some business insiders, between 30 and 40 per cent of them are Indian IT professionals, a major variety of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US firms to make use of international staff in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical experience. Technology firms depend upon it to rent tens of hundreds of workers annually from nations like India and China.

L-1A and L-1B visas can be found for non permanent intra-company transferees who work in managerial positions or have specialised information.

A considerably giant variety of Indian IT professionals, who’re on non-immigrant work visas like H-1B and L1, at the moment are scrambling for choices to remain within the US to discover a new job within the stipulated few months’ time that they get underneath these international work visas after shedding their jobs and alter their visa standing as nicely.

Amazon staffer Gita (title modified) arrived within the US solely three months in the past. This week she was advised that March 20 is her final working day.

The scenario is getting worse for these on H-1B visas as they need to discover a new job inside 60 days or else, they’d be left with no different possibility however to go again to India.

Under present circumstances, when all IT firms are on a firing spree, getting a job inside that brief interval, they really feel, is subsequent to unimaginable.

Sita (title modified), one other IT skilled on an H-1B visa, received laid off from Microsoft on January 18.

She is a single mom. Her son is in High School Junior 12 months, making ready for stepping into faculty.

“This situation is really hard on us,” she stated.

“It is unfortunate that thousands of tech employees are facing layoffs, particularly those on H-1B visas who are facing additional challenges as they must find a new job and transfer their visa within 60 days of termination or risk leaving the country,” Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and neighborhood chief Ajay Jain Bhutoria stated.

“This can have devastating consequences for families, including the sale of properties and disruptions to children’s education. It would be beneficial for tech companies to show special consideration for H-1B workers and extend their termination date by a few months, as the job market and recruitment process can be challenging,” he stated.

Global Indian Technology Professionals Association (GITPRO) and Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) on Sunday launched a community-wide effort to try to assist these IT professionals by connecting job seekers to job referrers and informers. FIIDS will work on efforts to affect policymakers and decision-makers of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

“With huge layoffs within the tech business, January 2023 has been brutal for tech professionals. Many gifted people misplaced their jobs. As the tech business is dominated by Indian immigrants, they’re the best to get impacted,” Khande Rao Kand stated.

The laid-off H-1B holders want to search out an H-1B sponsoring job in 60 days or go away inside 10 days after changing into out of standing.

“This has an enormous disruption on the household lives and kids’s training, and so on, on this tax-paying and contributing authorized immigrant,” Khande Rao Kand from FIIDS stated.

Bhutoria stated it might be useful for the immigration course of to be redesigned to raised help H-1B staff and retain extremely expert expertise within the US.

In deep misery, the fired Indian IT staff have shaped varied WhatsApp teams to search out methods to have an answer to the horrible scenario they’re in.

In one of many WhatsApp teams, there are greater than 800 jobless Indian IT staff who’re circulating amongst themselves vacancies showing within the nation.

In one other group, they’ve been discussing varied visa choices, with some immigration attorneys who’ve volunteered to supply their consultancy companies throughout this time.

“These circumstances have such a devastating effect on us immigrants and are nerve-wracking. We are kinda lost,” stated Rakesh (title modified), who was laid off from Microsoft on Thursday. He is within the US on an H-1B visa.

Adding to the miseries of Indian IT professionals is the newest resolution of Google that they’re pausing their Green Card processing. This is primarily as a result of, at a time once they have fired hundreds of workers, they can’t be seen arguing earlier than the USCIS that they want a international IT skilled as a everlasting resident. Other firms are anticipated to observe the identical.