H-1B Visa Holders Face Uncertainty Amidst Tech Layoffs
Ayush Raj Jha, a former Oracle engineer on an H-1B visa, is constantly worried about his career and job security in the US. He moved to Illinois from India in 2018 to pursue a master's degree in computer science.
Major tech companies like Amazon and Apple rely heavily on H-1B workers, with more than 200,000 applications approved since October 2020. Losing a job can mean more than just losing a paycheck for these workers; they have only 60 days to find a new employer or risk losing their legal status in the US.
Jha has seen firsthand the impact of AI and tech layoffs on his industry. He now spends eight to ten hours per week outside of work taking online courses, experimenting with coding tools, and contributing to open-source projects.
The experience has both impressed and worried him, he said: 'If we don't adapt to these new technologies, it just becomes impossible to stay relevant or even be employable at this point.'