(Image source from: Thehansindia.com)

For numerous Indian tech employees in the United States, the last few months have become a frantic race against time. One email about layoffs can unexpectedly threaten their entire way of life — jobs, housing, children's education, and even their right to remain in the country. With firms such as Meta, Amazon, and Oracle reducing their workforce, many Indians holding H-1B visas are now facing the challenge of meeting a strict 60-day limit set by US immigration policies, as noted in a recent report by Economic Times. Under the H-1B program, foreign employees who are let go only have 60 days to secure a new employer who will support their visa. If they do not succeed, they must leave the United States. For numerous Indians who have dedicated years to establishing their lives there, the stress is becoming unmanageable. To gain more time, many affected workers are now trying to switch to B-2 visitor visas, which could allow them to stay in the US for up to six months. However, immigration specialists indicate that even this option is becoming more challenging due to the current state of immigration in the US.

Immigration specialists report that authorities are now requiring more documentation and are denying more visas for laid-off H-1B workers attempting to switch to B-2 status. Although the process remains legal, getting approvals is reportedly becoming much more challenging. “We are witnessing a significant increase in Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny on B-1/B-2 change-of-status applications submitted by laid-off H-1B workers,” stated US immigration lawyer Rajiv Khanna. He mentioned that the volume of cases his team is managing is much greater than anything he has encountered in his career. Other immigration experts also informed ET that demands for more evidence and rejections have sharply risen in recent months. The crisis has escalated amid extensive layoffs in the tech industry. As reported by Layoffs. fyi, over 110,000 workers have been laid off from 144 tech firms in 2026 to date. Immigration experts believe that many of these people might be H-1B workers, a significant portion of whom are Indians.

Indians continue to be the largest recipients of the H-1B visa program. A report from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Homeland Security in 2026 revealed that Indians made up 283,772 of the 406,348 approved H-1B applications in FY25. However, this heavy reliance on the program is becoming a serious weakness. For many Indian professionals, layoffs are not merely about losing their income. Several have been in the US for almost ten years while waiting for green cards that are stuck in long delays. Many have American-born children, ongoing mortgage payments, and families well-established there. Boundless Immigration CEO Xiao Wang noted that the emotional toll has been significant, with many workers feeling neglected after years of contributing to the US tech sector.

Indian H-1B visa holders are facing significant difficulties because they have been in lengthy green card queues for many years; this adds to their challenges. Many individuals are expressing a desire to return to their home countries or relocate to Canada or Europe more than ever before in the past ten years, he mentioned.

Immigration lawyer Kevin J Andrews shared with ET that a lot of workers are now carefully thinking about whether it still makes sense to remain in the US, especially as artificial intelligence alters job recruitment in the tech sector. In addition to changing to B-2 visas, these workers are looking into various immigration options, such as F-1 student visas, O-1 visas for those with exceptional talents, and L-1 visas for job transfers within companies. Some are also thinking about moving to Canada with pathways like Express Entry and the Global Talent Stream. Recently, there has been a rise in worry stemming from Meta, which initiated another global round of job cuts this week as part of its restructuring centered on AI. Reports indicate that employees in Singapore began to receive layoff notifications as early as 4 AM local time on Wednesday, and workers in the US and Europe might also be affected. The total number of job cuts remains uncertain, and it is not yet known how many individuals from India might be impacted.

In a memo that Bloomberg has seen, Meta’s Head of People Janelle Gale expressed that the company seeks "flatter" teams that can operate more quickly with greater responsibility. Before the layoffs occurred, employees were said to have been encouraged to work from home as the restructuring took place. Concurrently, Meta has moved nearly 7,000 workers to teams focused on AI, developing products and AI agents. The job reductions are predicted to primarily affect the engineering and product sectors as CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasizes AI in the company’s future strategies. Meta is projected to invest over $100 billion in AI-related projects this year. Although LinkedIn has not yet experienced a surge of public posts from laid-off Meta employees searching for new jobs, the stress among H-1B visa holders is evidently increasing. For the latest updates, you can keep following India Today Tech.