Immigration Law

Foreign professionals In U.S. Face Uncertain Futures As Joblessness Rises During Recession

By Robert Kraft

A recent Associated Press article provides a good summary of the dilemma faced by foreign workers as the U.S. economy deteriorates. These workers are finding themselves less in demand, and are searching for alternative jobs or other means of maintaining their immigration status and stay in the United States. Here are excerpts:

For foreign professionals in the United States, the rising unemployment rate is especially daunting.

Laid-off foreign workers are scrambling for temporary visas and seeking advice from immigration attorneys about how long they can legally stay in the country while hunting for jobs.
 

Even some foreigners here on visas or work permits are switching employers, fearing that an unstable job during a recession could lead to a one-way ticket home or end their chance of getting a green card.

An undetermined number of foreign workers have been casualties of the recession, which pushed the nationwide jobless rate to 6.7% in November, a 15-year high. Economists expect unemployment to continue to climb through much of 2009 and could surpass 8%.

Nearly half a million foreign professionals are working in the country on visas, known as H-1Bs, or have applied for green cards with support from their employers, said Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a research group in Arlington, Va. Many came to the U.S. to pursue graduate degrees and have lived and worked here for years.

Those who lose their jobs in the downturn may head home or move to countries that have more lenient immigration rules. That could drive much-needed innovation in technology and engineering overseas in the years ahead, Anderson said.

"What you may find is there are people who could be future entrepreneurs in the United States who end up starting these companies in other countries," he said.

Immigration lawyers say they have received an increasing number of calls from foreign professionals who have been terminated -- many in the financial services industry as investment banks slash payroll to stay afloat.

Following the dot-com bust in 2000, many high-tech workers were laid off and some foreign workers returned overseas. This time, immigration attorneys say the pain began primarily in the financial sector -- though manufacturing and technology companies have also started eliminating jobs.

One of the biggest challenges for laid-off visa holders is the lack of a grace period to leave. Companies must provide a return ticket home for workers, who may try to switch to another visa, such as a six-month tourist visa, to buy time to pack their belongings or to look for another job.

Immigrants seeking green cards -- which would let them remain in the country permanently -- face different problems. If they are laid off, they can stay and look for a new job but must find one before the government reviews their paperwork, which could take months or years, depending how far along they are in the process. The bottom line: no employer, no green card.

During an economic slump, companies may reduce hiring abroad to scale back on legal fees. They also may do so to comply with U.S. laws that ban firms from sponsoring foreigners for green cards to replace laid-off American workers, said Robert Hoffman, president of government and public affairs at software company Oracle Corp. and co-chair of Compete America, a coalition that supports policies that would allow more skilled workers from other countries to be hired in the U.S.

A clearer picture of the recession's effect on foreign workers could emerge in April when companies can request visas for workers they hope to hire in 2009.

For the last six years, the demand for work visas has surpassed a 65,000 annual cap put in place by Congress, with 163,000 applications filed last year.

Full post as published by Immigration Law Answers Blog on January 05, 2009 (boomark / email).