H-1B workers seek 180 instead of 60-day stay in US post-unemployment period

Fearing massive layoffs in America due to the coronavirus crisis that is hitting businesses around the globe, foreign technology professionals on H-1B visas, the most sought after among Indians, demand the Trump administration extend their permissible post-job loss limit to stay in the US from the existing 60 to 180 days.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows the US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The current federal rules require an H-1B visa holder to leave the US along with their family members within 60 days of losing their job.