Washington: Amid mass layoffs in the tech sector, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has said it is wrong to assume that fired workers holding H-1B visa has to leave the country within 60 days and that they have multiple options to stay.
In a letter to the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou said, “When non-immigrant workers are laid off, they may not be aware of their options and may, in some instances, wrongly assume that they have no option but to leave the country within 60 days.”
The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), which has been working for laid-off H-1B visa holders, had recently written to USCIS about the impacts of recent technology sector layoffs and sought an increase to the up to 60-day grace period.
In the letter addressed to FIIDS director for policy and analysis strategy Khanderao Kand, the USCIS said it acknowledges the financial and emotional impact that job loss can have on employment-based non-immigrant workers and their families in the United States.
PTI