Major relief for H1B visa-holders in USA amid mass layoffs on the cards?

Lighting a ray of hope for H1B visa-holders in USA, a presidential advisory sub-committee has recommended that the grace period for H1B workers who have lost their jobs be extended.

The panel suggested to the Joe Biden government that the grace period be increased from 60 to 180 days so that the workers have enough opportunities to find a new job or other alternatives.

Many H1B visa-holders are IT professionals and other skilled workers from India.

“The immigration subcommittee recommends the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days,” Ajay Jain Bhutoria, member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said on Tuesday.

In his presentation, Bhutoria highlighted the significant challenges faced by H1-B workers laid off from their jobs. The current 60-day grace period presents numerous hurdles, including finding a new job within a tight timeframe, complex paperwork for transferring H1-B status, and delays in processing at USCIS, he said.

As a result, many H1-B workers are forced to leave the country which could result in a loss of skilled labour for the United States, he told members of the advisory commission.

(With agency inputs)

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