Answers for H-1B workers who’ve been laid off (or think they might be)

More than 20,000 tech workers have been laid off this month. There were over 12,000 layoffs in October.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has eliminated 11,000 jobs. Many of the employees impacted are immigrants on worker visas.

If an H-1B worker loses their job, they are forced to leave the country unless they can find a new position or change their immigration status within 60 days.

The ability of tech companies to live and work in the U.S. is in question because of the hiring freezes and planned cuts.

I hosted a question and answer with a Silicon Valley immigration lawyer for foreign tech workers who have been laid off.

If you're a visa holder who's been laid off, your first priority is to find a lawyer

You have to act within 60 days if you want to stay in the United States. It will take a new employer time to submit paperwork to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Alcorn said that the best-case scenario would be that the new company files the petition on or before the 59th day after your last day of employment.

It takes at least three weeks to prepare everything, so candidates and employers need to move quickly as the days get shorter. She said that you probably need a signed offer by the 33rd day.

Most of the people laid off from Bay Area startup are H-1B holders, according to Alcorn's research. There are answers to several of the questions we received.

I was laid off while I was out of the country, but my lawyer told me to go back to work. The 60-day grace period may still apply.

You are not in H-1B status if you were laid off while abroad. If you want to get an H-1B, you have to leave the country and return to work.

The 60-day grace period is no longer available. You can only change or extend your status if you marry a U.S. citizen and they sponsor you for a green card.

A good-faith marriage is needed. You have to demonstrate that your families know each other, that you do romantic comedy things with each other, and that you have the photos to back it up. Two years from now, the government will check to see if you still have a spouse.

I have been approved for an H-1B but not activated. Is it possible to change employers without having to go through the lottery? My H-1B needs to be activated first.

Without doing so, you can change employers. When interviewing for jobs, you need to make it clear to the HR person that you are eligible for an H-1B change of employer, and you really need their immigration lawyers to take a close look, because basically, what you will need is a change of status