US-Based Companies Are Hiring Laid-Off H-1B Visa Workers, Survey Finds

If you’ve been following the trends in the tech industry, you know that its recent past hasn’t been great for employees. There have been massive layoffs and hundreds of people have lost their jobs due to this. Since most tech companies are laying off employees, it has been extremely difficult for laid-off employees to find new jobs. Many Indian engineers and techies who work on H-1B visas have also faced a similar situation.

Layoffs Of H1-B Visa Workers In The US

Several tech companies in the United States of America are hiring foreign talent. A worldwide immigration services provider, Envoy Global, recently conducted a survey wherein several HR professionals were engaged regarding immigration functions at their company.

The survey found that despite many H-1B visa workers being laid off to cut costs, the US is hiring the majority of these laid-off employees. The survey was conducted in the month of February and a total of 443 respondents were interviewed.

The report titled ‘2023 Immigration trends’ found that companies benefited significantly from hiring foreign talent that was hired earlier during the layoffs. The survey also found that as many as 71 per cent of the companies hired more foreign talent in the first quarter of 2023.

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Survey Reveals That Demand For Foreign Talent Is Now Higher

The survey also suggests that this momentum will only continue. Traditionally, it is Indians who have benefited the most as they have bagged over 60 per cent of the jobs meant for H-1B visa workers. There is a cap of 85,000 in the US quota for H-1B visas.

However, when registrations for the visa opened on the 1st of March, the US received a whopping 4,83,000 visa applications. These applications will then be put into a lottery system which will decide which applicants will be granted a visa.

The survey also found that nearly 84 per cent of respondents approved of the way that the Biden administration was handling immigration based on employment. However, they also mentioned that the current cap of H-1B visas might be posing an obstruction for companies that want to hire more foreign talent.

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