Over 200,000 H-1B Workers Could Lose Their Right To Be In US By June

The experts note that visa crisis is dealing a big blow to the workers who are already badly affected due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Washington| In the United States, layoffs due to the highly infectious coronavirus pandemic which is affecting businesses badly could endanger H1-B visa workers, who could run the risk of losing their status.

Jeremy Neufeld, an immigration policy analyst with the Washington DC-based think tank Niskanen Center told Bloomberg that nearly 250,000 guest workers seeking to get a green card in the United States, with 200,000 of them on H-1B visas, could possibly lose their legal status by June end.

H-1B visa is a temporary visa program designed for people with specialized skills. H-1B receivers can only remain in the nation legally for 60 days without being paid.

A report said that almost three-quarters of H-1B visas are given to those employed in the technology sector.

Over the last two months, millions of US citizens have been laid off. However, people on work visas are more likely to hardships. This is because H1-B visas are associated with the location and an employer who agrees to award the receiver a basic pay. Salary cuts and even work from home methods usually go against the visa rules.

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H-1B workers who are laid-off have 60-days to find a new job, shift to a different visa type or return home. Even for workers who are able to hold on to their jobs, the novel coronavirus has put a great challenge as they won’t be able to get their visas renewed.

President Donald Trump, on April 20, tweeted that he planned a brief ban on all immigration to protect American jobs; the following day he declared an executive order barring most people coming from outside the United States from receiving green cards for 60 days. This increased the fear of further agitations for companies who employ many foreign-born workers.