Indians sacked by tech firms struggle to find jobs in US

WASHINGTON: Indian IT professionals are struggling to find new employment in the US within the stipulated period under their work visas after thousands were laid off.

According to The Washington Post, nearly 200,000 IT workers have been laid off since November last year, including some record numbers in companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.

As per industry insiders, over 30 to 40 per cent of the Indian IT professionals have been laid off in the US. A significant number of them are H-1B and L1 visa holders.

They are now struggling to find a new job in the stipulated few months that they get under these foreign work visas after losing their jobs and changing their visa status as well.

Amazon staffer Gita (name changed) arrived in the US only three months ago. This week she was told that March 20 is her last working day.

The situation is getting worse for those on H-1B visas as they have to find a new job within 60 days or else, they would be left with noother option but to head back to India.

Under current circumstances, when all IT companies are on a firing spree, getting a job within that short period, they feel is next toimpossible.

Sita (name changed), another IT professional on an H-1B visa, got laid off from Microsoft on Jan 18. A single mother, her son is in High School Junior year, preparing for getting into college.

“This situation is really hard on us,” she said.

“It is unfortunate thousands of tech employees are facing layoffs, particularly those on H-1B visas who are facing additional challenges as they must find a new job and transfer their visa within 60 days of termination or risk leaving the country,” Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria said. ↔ More on P10