The US has announced that individuals traveling to the country on business or tourist visas – B-1 and B-2 – can apply for new jobs and even appear for interviews, but must prospective employees should ensure that they change their visa status before starting. new paper.
B-1 and B-2 visas are commonly referred to as “B visas”, and they are the most common types of visas issued for many uses in the United States. The B-1 visa is issued primarily for short business trips, while the B-2 visa is primarily for travel for tourism purposes.
In a note, and a series of tweets, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Wednesday that when non-immigrant workers are laid off, they may not be aware of their options and may, in some cases, mistakenly think that they have no choice but to leave the country within 60 days.
The USCIS move comes as thousands of highly skilled foreign-born workers, including Indians, in the US have lost their jobs due to a series of recent layoffs by companies such as of Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
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They are now finding it difficult to find a new job within the set 60 days under their work visas after quitting their jobs to stay in the country.
The maximum 60-day grace period begins the day after termination of employment, which is usually determined based on the last day on which salary or wages were paid.
When a nonimmigrant worker’s employment is terminated, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, they can usually take one of several actions, if eligible, to remain for a period of authorized stay in the United States.
This includes filing an application for adjustment of nonimmigrant status; filing an application for adjustment of status; file an application for an employment authorization document “pressing circumstances”; or be the beneficiary of a frivolous petition for change of employer.
“If one of these actions occurs within the up to 60-day grace period, the nonimmigrant’s period of authorized stay in the United States may exceed 60 days, even if they have lost their previous nonimmigrant status. status,” said USCIS.
If the worker does not take action within the grace period, they and their dependents may be required to leave the United States within 60 days, or upon the expiration of their permitted validity period, whichever very short, it says.
“Many people ask if they can look for a new job while in B-1 or B-2 status. The answer is, yes. Looking for a job and interviewing for a position is allowed as B -1 or B-2 activities,” USCIS said in a series of tweets.
At the same time, USCIS states that before starting any new job, the petition and request for change of status from B-1 or B-2 to a status authorized by employment must be approved, and the new status must take effect.
“On the other hand, if the change of status request is denied or the petition for new employment requests consular or port of entry notification, the individual must leave the US and be admitted to a classification authorized by employment before starting a new job,” the USCIS said.
Amid massive layoffs in the American tech sector that have resulted in a large number of Indian professionals out of a job, two Indian-American organizations launched an online petition last month, urging the US President Joe Biden will extend the grace period for H-1B visa holders from two months to one year.
This means that once fired from a job, a foreign tech worker on an H-1B visa has one year to find a new job instead of the current 60 days, after which they must leave the country.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty jobs that require theoretical or technical skills.
Technology companies rely on it to hire tens of thousands of employees every year from countries like India and China.
