https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tech-layoffs-u-send-foreign-132636158.html
Tech Layoffs in U. S. Send Foreign Workers Scrambling to Find New Jobs
Since Microsoft brought him to the United States 14 years ago, Abhishikt Jain has excelled professionally, raised a family and settled into a four-bedroom house with a garage “full of unnecessary stuff,” he said.
“You could say I achieved the American dream,” said the software engineer, now 43, who is from India and lives in Bellevue, Washington.
But in October, Jain fell victim to layoffs battering the tech industry, and suddenly his family’s future was thrust into uncertainty. On the cusp of securing permanent U. S. residency after a 12-year-wait, Jain instead faced the prospect of packing up and leaving the United States unless he quickly found another job or finally received his green card.
After years of galloping growth, the U. S. tech sector has slammed on the brakes amid rising inflation and worries about a recession. A hiring bonanza has given way to drastic head count reductions to slash costs.
Getting sacked during the holiday season is a blow to any worker. But for foreigners on temporary work visas, the challenges go far beyond managing without paychecks. They must find jobs within 60 days at another company willing to sponsor them for a visa, or they must leave the country. And many stand to lose their shot at U. S. permanent residency after spending years in a green card backlog.
More than 146,000 tech workers have been laid off this year, according to Layoffs. fyi, which tracks them, including 51,000 in November alone. A substantial share of those terminated were foreigners, even though employers have not disclosed how many workers on temporary visas have been let go
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