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

According to layoffs.fyi, more than 23,000 tech workers have been laid off so far this month. By comparison, the site recorded 12,463 layoffs in October.

Facebook's parent company Meta announced the first major job cuts in its history this week, shedding 11,000 jobs. Like Twitter, Stripe, Brex, Lyft, Netflix and other Bay Area-based tech companies, many affected employees are immigrants on work visas.

An unexpected layoff introduces an element of chaos into anyone's life, but when an H-1B worker loses his job, a noisy clock starts ticking: unless he can pick up the phone a new job or change their immigration status within 60 days, they are obligated to leave the country.

And because tech companies of all sizes are freezing hiring and planning further cuts, their ability to live and work in the United States is suddenly in question.

Earlier today, I hosted a Q&A session for foreign tech workers who have been laid off (or may be laid off) with Sophie Alcorn, an immigration attorney based in Silicon Valley.

Alcorn, who writes "Dear Sophie," a weekly advice column for TechCrunch+, shared background information for visa applicants and hiring managers looking for talent. If you are a visa holder who has been terminated, your first priority is to “find a lawyer and determine your last day of employment, because that is when you should start counting the grace period. 60 days,” Alcorn said.< /p>

"You either get a new job, leave, or find another way to legally stay in the United States, but you must take action within those 60 days." Start looking for new opportunities now, she advised, because it will take time for a new employer to submit documents to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"The best-case scenario would be for this new company to file your change of employer petition and for USCIS to receive the documents no later than the 59th day since your last day of employment," Alcorn said.

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“It takes at least three weeks to prepare everything”, which means that candidates and employers must act quickly as the days go by. "You probably need a signed offer around day 33," she said.

Based on its experience, Alcorn has estimated that 15% of those laid off from Bay Area startups are immigrants, 90% of whom hold an H-1B. Below you will find answers to many of the questions we received [edited for more space and clarity].

I was fired while I was abroad, but my lawyer advised me to travel with ESTA, which I did. Does the 60-day grace period still apply?

Sophie Alcorn: If you are in the United States with ESTA after being terminated overseas, you are no longer in H-1B status. You have to leave the country to get a new H-1B and try to come back and start working.

You no longer benefit from the 60-day grace period; you abandoned it. The only thing you can do to change or extend your status if you are in the United States under the 90-day visa waiver program with ESTA is to marry a US citizen and ask them to sponsor you for a green card.

It has to be a real bona fide marriage. You have to intend to share a life together, you have to show that your families know each other, that you do romantic comedies together and have the photos to prove it. And the government will check in two years whether you are still married.

I am currently on an OPT and have an H-1B approved, but not activated. Can I change employers without going through the lottery right away? Or will my H-1B need to be activated first?

You can actually change employers without [doing so]. When you go for a job interview, you need to make it very clear to the HR manager that you think you're eligible for an H-1B change of employer, and you really need their immigration attorneys to take a close look, because essentially what you will need is a change of status from F-1 or OPT to H-1B in the United States, as well as a change of employer.