According to the Presidential Advisory Subcommittee, the federal government would increase the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days. This will give them adequate time to discover new or different job opportunities without comprising their H1-B status.
Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a member of the President's Advisory Committee on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said that the immigration subcommittee has approved their H1-B status by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.
It said it recommended extending the grace period for workers. He went from 60 days to 180 days when he lost his job.
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In his presentation, Bhutoria emphasised the significant challenges that H1-B workers are facing after being laid off. According to him, the existing 60-day grace period creates various obstacles, such as locating new employment in a short amount of time, completing extensive paperwork for switching H1-B status, and dealing with delays at USCIS.
As a result, he informed advisory board members, many H1-B employees are being pushed to leave the country, potentially resulting in a loss of talented professionals in the United States.
Additionally, Butoria also made a strong argument for extending the grace period, emphasising the necessity to encourage highly-skilled skilled people, who he feels are crucial to American economic growth. This extension will give affected employees more time to go through the complex and time-consuming process of finding new employment opportunities and transitioning to H1-B status.
Committee members supported this move, recognizing the importance of supporting and retaining highly qualified technical staff. Butoria's advice of extending the H1-B workers' grace period is to ensure that highly qualified and competent employees may continue to contribute to US economic growth without fear of losing their jobs.
If they are terminated, H1-B visa holders risk substantial penalties. They have a 60-day grace period after termination to depart the country, request for a change of immigration status, or have another employer file their H1-B petition on their behalf. Failure to do so within 60 days will be considered a violation of the terms of the nonimmigrant visa.
However, if the new employer submits a new H1-B application for the visa holder within 60 days of the previous employer's dismissal, even if there is a gap in H1-B status, a change of employer is generally accepted. application is allowed. An employee of the visa holder gave. An H1-B worker faces several obstacles that make it difficult to meet all the requirements to maintain status within the current 60-day grace period.
However, tech companies typically conduct four to five interviews lasting several weeks before candidates are offered a position. Even if an H1-B workers were succeeding in finding a new job within 60 days, the process of converting H1-B status would be time-consuming and difficult owing to the massive amount of documents necessary.
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There is a possibility that due to delays at USCIS, this process may take more than 60 days. This could result in a loss of skilled workers in the United States. These workers or employees may be unable to return unless they obtain a new H1-B visa, which can take years.
Butoria also claimed that it was only a matter of time before the US economy turned from a few months of a slowdown to a boom, with a significant increase in commercial activity and the opening of new opportunities for highly skilled and skilled workers to support economic growth.
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Source: The Hindu
