'Let laid off immigrants stay': US lawmakers in letter to immigration services
1 min read . Updated: 13 Apr 2023, 11:00 AM IST
Premium- In their letter to USCIS Director Ur Jaddou, the lawmakers have argued that in today's knowledge-based economy, some immigrants possess highly valuable skills
A group of lawmakers from Silicon Valley has expressed concerns over large-scale layoffs in the tech industry and has requested the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to let the high-skilled immigrants stay in the country even if they loose their jobs.
In their letter to USCIS Director Ur Jaddou, the lawmakers have argued that in today's knowledge-based economy, some immigrants possess highly valuable skills, and “forcing them to leave the US is harmful to our nation's long-term economic competitiveness."
"This issue is of great importance to our constituents because layoffs in the tech sector have accelerated in recent months. The number of tech jobs lost since the beginning of 2023 has already surpassed the total number of layoffs in 2022," the letter said.
The letter was sent by lawmakers Congressmen Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna, Jimmy Panetta, and Kevin Mullin.
Additionally, it calls for the USCIS to provide information regarding how the layoffs have affected immigrants, to investigate if the USCIS has given any instructions to decision-makers as a result of the layoffs, and to prolong the 60-day grace period given to H-1B holders who have been laid off, so they have more time to find a new job before their legal status is revoked.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
"We ask that you share any relevant data with us so we can better understand the impact of the layoffs," according to the letter.
"What are the approval and denial rates, broken down by visa category, for newly unemployed H-1B holders who have applied for the nonimmigrant visas listed in the December 19th USCIS fact sheet? Considering unemployed H-1B holders only have a limited 60-day window to secure a new visa, we request that you release this data publicly so these individuals can make informed decisions about which visas to apply for," it said.
The lawmakers also sought information about the duration of time USCIS takes to process visa applications submitted by newly unemployed H-1B holders.
"While individuals are legally allowed to remain in the US as their visa applications are pending, we’re concerned about the potential consequences of processing times that exceed the 60-day grace period," the lawmaker said in their letter.
(With inputs from PTI)