After Years In US, Now Indian H-1B Techies Fears Forced Exits

The latest wave of layoffs sweeping through Silicon Valley is spooking Indian technology professionals particularly hard, with thousands of H-1B visa holders now facing a 60-day window to secure new employment or leave the United States.

Meta has cut around 8,000 jobs globally as it redirects resources towards artificial intelligence (AI), with Amazon and LinkedIn also trimming headcount in recent months. According to Layoffs.fyi, more than 110,000 employees across 144 tech companies have lost jobs in 2026 so far. A substantial portion are believed to be foreign nationals, with Indians representing the single largest group of H-1B holders — accounting for 283,772 of the 406,348 approved H-1B petitions in FY25, according to a 2026 report from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Homeland Security.

Under US Citizenship and Immigration Services rules, laid-off H-1B workers typically have 60 days from their last working day — not their final pay date — to find a new sponsoring employer, switch visa categories or prepare to leave. That deadline is proving brutal in the current environment where hiring has slowed sharply and AI-driven restructuring has made companies more cautious about taking on new staff.

Lesser Backup Routes

Many affected workers have traditionally turned to B-1 or B-2 visitor visas as a stopgap, filing Form I-539 to extend their stay while job hunting. That route remains legal but is becoming increasingly difficult. US-based immigration attorney Rajiv Khanna told the Economic Times that his team is seeing a significant spike in requests for additional evidence and notices of intent to deny on change-of-status applications filed by laid-off H-1B workers — at a scale he described as beyond anything seen previously in his career.

Some workers are also exploring F-1 student visas, O-1 extraordinary ability visas and L-1 intra-company transfer routes. Canada's Express Entry and Global Talent Stream programmes are attracting growing interest as well.

The stakes are high for a community that has, in many cases, spent the better part of a decade in the US waiting on green card backlogs that stretch decades long. Many have US-born children, home loans and lives firmly rooted in America. A Blind poll cited in media reports suggested nearly half of Indian professionals in the US would consider returning to India if they lost their jobs.

Meta has offered affected employees severance covering 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks per year of service, alongside 18 months of healthcare coverage — but for many, the calculation has moved well beyond finances.