Indian H-1B Visa Holders Fear Layoff

Foreign technology professionals holding H-1B visas want their permissible post-job loss limit to stay in the US from existing 60 days to 180 days. They fear massive layoffs due to the coronavirus crisis.

H-1B visa federal rules

It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to hire professionals from foreign countries from countries like India and China. According to present rules, the US administration allows foreign professionals to leave the country within 60 days of losing their jobs.

Economic experts have expressed fear of massive layoffs in the job sector due to slowdown of the economy due to coronavirus crisis that is affecting every sector of the society. Already 3.3 million Americans have filed initial jobless claims till March 21. But the peak of coronavirus and joblessness is yet to come. It is estimated that approximately 47 million people will lose their jobs in America.

But H-1B visa holders are kept out of employment benefits. Also, they aren’t entitled for social security benefits even after making contributions to social security. The initial figures of jobless people show that most of the jobless people will be H-1B visa holders. Companies have already started informing their employees about the layoff.

Future of H-1B visa holders

The visa holders have demanded the Trump government to extend their grace period from 60 to 180 days. They have started a campaign on the White House website regarding the same. The petition has attracted more than 20,000 signatures but it requires a minimum of 100,000 signatures to get a response from the government.

Source: https://bit.ly/2w15kgA

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