Among those impacted are Indians working on H1-B visas – a non-immigrant visa that allows firms to employ foreigners for up to six years – who are now forced to find a job within 60 days or leave
Hundreds of laid off tech workers in the US are benefitting from support groups that have sprung up online and offline following mass layoffs at major tech firms in the US, reported bbc.com.
In the past couple of months, firms like Meta, Twitter and Amazon have shed thousands of staff amid growing concerns about an economic downturn. Among those impacted are Indians working on H1-B visas – a non-immigrant visa that allows firms to employ foreigners for up to six years – who are now forced to find a job within 60 days or leave.
Fellow tech employees in the US, who are familiar with the uncertainty an H1-B visa brings, have been rallying together to help their peers find jobs before they are forced to leave. They are sending encouraging messages, flagging job openings and tapping into personal networks to bring immigration lawyers, recruiters and jobseekers onto common platforms to offer solutions.
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Some American cities too are eager to attract foreign talent that has become available after the mass layoffs
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Abhishek Gutgutia, a Bay Area-based tech worker who launched Zeno – a platform that connects jobseekers with prospective employers – says his project is being actively promoted by the city of St Louis, Missouri, to “grow its metropolitan population by attracting foreign-born talent”.
The report mentioned that Vidhi Agrawal and Shruti Anand, who work for tech firms on H1-B visas, have created a database to connect the jobseekers with prospective employers. “These [the lad-off employees] are among the top tech talent in the world,” Ms Agrawal, who works at the software firm Databricks, was quoted saying. “From the resumes we see they’re well-educated, super-skilled and making upwards of $250,000.” She added that several companies, including her own, are open to hire from the available talent pool.
She said that she and Anand have been helping “resumes be seen by the right people” and “fast-tracking referrals and interviews” because they’re aware of the tight time-frame for H1-B visa holders.
Elsewhere, fellow tech workers are putting together events to help the laid off. In northern California, the IIT Bay Area Alumni Association organised an ‘Ask Me Anything’ event to help fired workers with questions about visa policies, employee rights and other issues.
The event was organised by Dharmesh Jani, a board member of the association and a senior employee in Meta\s infrastructure team, after he noticed employees with H1-B visas raising similar concerns in a WhatsApp group.
Experts also offered strategic tips, like how applying for a visitor visa – non-immigrant visas for entering the US temporarily for business – can help an H1-B visa holder get a few extra months to continue their job search; advice on negotiating with employers to extend the last day of employment and suggestions on types of companies that are more likely to hire at the moment.
Some American cities too are eager to attract foreign talent that has become available after the mass layoffs. Abhishek Gutgutia, a Bay Area-based tech worker who launched Zeno – a platform that connects jobseekers with prospective employers – says his project is being actively promoted by the city of St Louis, Missouri, to “grow its metropolitan population by attracting foreign-born talent”.
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