US Federal Agency Allows People To Apply For Jobs & Give Interviews Through Business Visa

The US has announced that people can now apply for new positions and appear for interviews by traveling to the country on a business or tourist visa - B-1 and B-2, but the employees must ensure that they have changed their visa status before starting a new role.

Generally, there are different types of Visas issued for various purposes in the United States, but the most common types are B-1 and B-2, which are referred to as B visas.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) took the liberal step in light of the situation of thousands of highly skilled foreign-born workers, including Indians, in the foreign country losing their jobs due to recent layoffs at tech-giant companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

USCIS, through a series of tweets, addressed the problem of laid-off non-immigrant workers not being aware of their option. At the same time, in some instances, they have no option left apart from leaving the country within a period of 60 days. This decision by US agency will relief for people who are struggling to find new employment within 60 days under following the termination of their employment to stay in the country, as per a report in Business Standard.

When a non-immigrant worker loses his/her employment, one typically files an application to change the non-immigrant status and adjust it suitably.

Another alternative in this situation is to file an application for a “compelling circumstances” employment authorization document or being the beneficiary of a non-frivolous petition to change employer.

Although, a maximum 60-day grace period is granted automatically, which starts the day after just after the termination of employment. Typically it is determined based on the last working day for which a salary or wage is paid.

Indian Professionals Unemployed Amid Layoffs

USCIS further said that before commencement of any new employment by an individual, a petition and request for change of status from B-1 or B-2 to an employment-authorized status must be approved so that the new status comes into effect.

The massive layoffs in the American tech sector can be considered as the prime cause of the step, as the sudden drops of employment for non-immigrants resulted in a large number of Indian professionals becoming unemployed.

In response to the inconsiderate move of these companies towards their workforce, two Indian-American organizations launched an online petition last month, urging US President Joe Biden to extend the grace period of H-1B visas holders from two months to a year, respectively. The proposition will enable a foreign tech worker after being fired from job, to have one year to find a new job instead of the existing time period of 60 days through the aid of H-1B visas, after which they have to leave the country.

The countries India and China are key players in constituting the technical workforce of United States’ large Silicon Valley-based economy. Thus, the country cannot afford to lose its non-immigrant skilled employees.

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