H-1B Visa Holders Urged to Prepare for Layoffs: 'No One is Irreplaceable'

Immigration attorney says H-1B visa holders should always have a plan in case they get laid off as no one is irreplaceable and even Steve Jobs was fired from his company. With US companies announcing layoffs and H-1B workers struggling to find new jobs within 60 days, immigration attorneys said they find it difficult to comprehend that H-1B workers do not have alternate plans regarding their jobs while this can happen at anytime, notwithstanding the market situation and H-1B is only a temporary visa, it is not a Green Card and not US citizenship. Indian-origin immigration attorney Rahul Reddy said people often think they are irreplaceable in their jobs as they are doing very good but even Steve Jobs got fired from the company that he founded and so there is no place for complacency. Reddy said there should be three plans:Plan A: This should be about the job you have. Work hard, attend events, network with people and find out what your market value is. Don't take long vacation from work as there were several instances where people on H-1B visa found out during their vacation that they have been laid off.Plan B: This is a plan for a situation if you are laid off. Plan ahead whether you will switch to an F visa which is meant for students or H4 visa, which is meant for the spouses of H-1B visa holders. Switching to a B1 visa, meant for tourists, is not an option anymore as the USCIS is mostly not allowing this change of status, Reddy said adding that if one has the option to switch to H4 visa, it is the best.Plan C: This is for a situation if the H-1B visa holder has to leave the US. Reddy sais H-1B visa holders should remain prepared for such a situation as they are not permanent residents. Don't let your I-94 expire Immigration attorney Emily Neumann added to the list of what H-1Bs should do and advised that the I-94 should not be allowed to expire. Because if it expires before 60 days when you are fired, you have less time in the US and I-94 determines how long you can stay in the US. Neumann added that H-1B visa holders, at the risk of being laid off, should preserve their emergency savings and should avoid traveling outside the US.