Ray of hope: Several US companies hire laid-off H-1B workers, finds survey
2 min read
laid-off H-1B workers: In the United States, the job market is bad right now. With a few companies laying off employees and freezing hiring, H1B visa holders have been the most terribly impacted as they generally get 60 days to track down another sponsor.
However, several hundred visa holders who were affected by the layoffs have a glimmer of hope. Envoy Global, a provider of immigration services, published a survey report that found that nearly 89% of the businesses surveyed had hired one or more foreign nationals who had been laid off.
The survey was conducted in February and received responses from HR professionals who perform immigration-related tasks for their companies. It cuts across a wide variety of industries and company sizes.
Envoy Global also noted in their report, “2023 immigration trends,” that 78% of the companies surveyed had hiring freezes in 2022 as a result of macroeconomic trends, and nearly 51% laid off foreign workers. However, many businesses benefited from hiring foreign workers who had been affected by the earlier layoffs.
Few US companies hire laid-off H-1B workers
The survey also demonstrates that demand for foreign talent is higher than it is now in early 2022, despite the harsh economic reality. The Department of Labor claims that the number of H-1B sponsorships reached an all-time high. It states that 71% of companies report hiring more foreign workers in the first quarter of 2023 than during the same period last year, it states.
The survey indicates that this momentum will not go to a stop. It expects slightly more H-1B registrations than in 2022 when a record 483,000 applications were submitted.
On March 1, the H-1B specialty occupation visa registration period opened online. Because the number of registrations far exceeds the annual H-1B cap quota of 85,000 visas. A lottery will again be held after the registration period ends to select candidates. With over 60% of the new H-1B cap allotments going to Indians, they are typically the main beneficiaries.
Immigration restrictions are forcing employers to relocate employees from non-U.S. countries. Despite the high demand for sponsorship of foreign talent in the United States. Due to visa-related issues in the United States last year, 81% of companies relocated their foreign national employees. To an office and 80% relocated employees overseas to work remotely. Due to visa-related uncertainties, 86% of companies hired employees outside the United States for roles that were originally intended to be based within the country.
[US extends premium processing of work authorization for some students on F-1 visas]
Companies most frequently relocated employees to Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom in response to U.S. immigration restrictions.
In addition to establishing one or multiple entities outside the US. American companies are also looking into starting a Global Employment Company and moving employees to other countries. Through the use of an “Employer of Record,” a “Professional Employer Organization”. Or other contracting methods to continue working indirectly with them.
