Mass layoffs have left dozens of major tech firms and startups hemorrhaging workers ahead of the holiday season, capping off a year of shrinkage at those companies. That leaves thousands of former employees rushing to find new work in a currently contracting industry—a daunting task for U.S. citizens and a predicament with potentially life-changing consequences for laid-off workers on H-1B visas.
The H-1B visa program is a temporary work pathway through which U.S. companies can employ highly skilled foreigners in "specialty occupations." Per the Department of Labor, the program is meant to serve employers who otherwise aren't able to "obtain needed business skills and abilities" from the American workforce. Visas are capped at 85,000 per year and are issued for three years, with the possibility of extensions. Once an H-1B worker has lost his job, he can only stay in the U.S. legally for 60 days unless he finds new work or reclassifies to a different visa.
