World News | US lawmakers send letter to USCIS on immigrants affected by mass tech layoffs

WASHINGTON, April 13 (PTI) Expressing concern over mass layoffs in the tech industry, a group of lawmakers from Silicon Valley have written to the USCIS to secure high-skilled immigrants with H-1B visas, most popular among Indian IT professionals. Sought after, you can stay in the country even after losing your job.

Thousands of highly skilled U.S.-born foreign workers, including Indians, have lost their jobs due to a recent spate of layoffs by companies such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon. According to US media reports, since November last year, nearly 200,000 IT employees have been laid off.

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Industry insiders say 30% to 40% of them are Indian IT professionals, a significant number of whom hold H-1B and L1 visas.

In a letter from Ur Mendoza Jaddou, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the lawmakers noted that this group of immigrants possess skills that are invaluable in today’s knowledge economy and that “forcing them to leave the United States would be detrimental to our country’s long-term economy. Competitiveness.”

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The letter was sent by MPs Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna, Jimmy Panetta and Kevin Mullin. Lofgren served as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

“This issue is important to our constituents because the pace of layoffs in the tech industry has accelerated in recent months. Since the beginning of 2023, the number of layoffs in the technology industry has exceeded the total number of layoffs in 2022,” the letter said.

It also requires USCIS to release data detailing the impact of layoffs on affected immigrants; asks whether USCIS has issued guidance to adjudicators regarding layoffs; and extends the 60-day grace period for laid-off H-1B holders to find new jobs before losing legal status. deadline.

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers for specialized occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Tech companies rely on it to hire tens of thousands of workers each year from countries like India and China.

Lawmakers asked the USCIS chief to provide details on roughly how many H-1B visa holders managed to maintain legal status after losing their jobs, and how many left the country or accumulated illegal presence.

“We ask that you share any relevant data with us so we can better understand the impact of the layoffs,” the letter said.

“What are the approval and denial rates by visa category for new unemployed H-1B holders applying for the nonimmigrant visas listed in the December 19 USCIS fact sheet? Considering that unemployed H-1B holders People only have a limited 60-day window to get new visas, and we ask that you publicly release this data so those people can make informed decisions about which visas to apply for,” it said.

Lawmakers asked USCIS about how long it would take to process visa applications filed by newly unemployed H-1B holders.

“While individuals can legally remain in the United States while their visa applications are pending, we are concerned about the potential consequences of processing times beyond the 60-day grace period,” the lawmakers said in the letter.

In such cases, migrants would be required to leave the country immediately if their visa applications were rejected, they said.

“Not only does this situation cause great distress to the individuals affected, but if it takes a long time to get their affairs in order before leaving the country, it could lead to them staying illegally. Should they apply for a future visa,” the lawmakers wrote.

Will newly unemployed H-1B holders be penalized for applying for B-1/B-2 visitor visas, Congressman asks?

“Because B-1/B-2 visas are designed for short-term visits to the United States, we are concerned that adjudicators will deny visas to laid-off H-1B holders, many of whom have lived in the United States for many years, on the grounds that It is these individuals who do not have sufficient ties to their home countries to demonstrate their intention to leave the United States upon expiration of their visas,” they said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)