Massive layoffs prompted an online petition requesting President Joe Biden to extend the grace period for H-1B visa holders. The online petition, which was started by two Indian-American organizations, demanded the H-1B visa to be extended from two months to a year.
A foreign tech worker on an H-1B visa would have one year instead of the current 60 days to find a new job, and they would have to leave the country, per the online petition, the news agency PTI said.
“On behalf of immigrants (from the world, mainly from India and China) as well as naturalized citizens like Indian-Americans, Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies and Global Technology Professionals Association (GITPRO) has submitted an appeal to the President of the United States, the Secretary of DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the director of USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) to extend the current grace period from 60 days to 1 year (minimum 6 months),” the online petition said.
“We join the appeal and request to sympathetically consider the impact of the families on humanitarian grounds. We believe that this extension will pause this brain drain and ensure that the US will continue to be a world leader in technology and innovation. We also request elected officials to support this extension and if needed introduce a bill in the House of Representatives,” said the online petition that has been signed by more than 2,200 people so far.
Meanwhile, a Facebook group of overseas Indians has launched a petition urging the Indian government to hire the laid-off Indian tech workers in the US.
Considering the ongoing layoff situation, we are requesting you to consider hiring the recently laid-off and returning Indian IT workers as consultants as part of the digitization initiatives undertaken by your ministries,” said the letter addressed to Ashwini Vaishnav, the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology