Foreigners workers fired in layoffs may have to leave the US; understand why
By Daniel Nobre
Many of those fired in the layoffs that have been happening since last year in the tech industries in the US are foreigners. According to the US government, as of September 30, 2019, visas for foreigners to work in the country, the H-1B, had been approved for 619,327 foreigners.
The visa gives an employee 60 days to get a new job today. If not, he will have to leave the country. This grace period is concise, even more so in the current scenario.
Layoffs have accounted for over 70,000 layoffs so far. And employees, no matter how qualified they are, are getting fewer positions as the market is still adjusting.
After all, several companies, at the same time, followed the path of layoffs to reduce costs and, above all, correct strategies taken during the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon, Twitter, Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), and Alphabet (owner of Google, Gmail, YouTube and more) are just some companies that have laid off en masse.
Help may come from Washington

Last Friday, the 17th, according to Onmanorama, a presidential security subcommittee recommended extending the visa from 60 to 180 days, giving foreigners more time to look for a new job.
The proposal was mooted by Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a President’s Advisory Committee member on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Bhutoria guarantees that the departure of qualified workers would represent a significant loss for the US.
The proposal has yet to be approved. Meanwhile, those already running out of 60 days must leave the US to avoid being considered illegal and suffering penalties.
Image by mohamed_hassan from Pixabay
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