Hear it again: As tech companies announce layoffs, the clock is ticking for immigrant workers

The big news in the tech world this week is, of course, the announcement from Microsoft that it’ll lay off roughly 10,000 employees by April. Other tech giants have already announced big reductions. Let’s run down some of the numbers: Twitter has cut 3,700 jobs.

Meta — 11,000. Salesforce — 7,000.

And today, Amazon begins its planned reduction of 18,000 people.

While the leaders of these companies are largely blaming macro-economic conditions, each layoff is felt at the personal level.

Many of the people at Puget Sound-area tech companies work under an H-1B visa.

"There's a lot of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty," said Tahmina Watson from Watson Immigration Law. "With the lay of the land, people don't know if they will get a job."

The 60-day clock begins from the day of an employee's final pay stub. During that span, those on an H-1B cannot take a short-term job elsewhere unless that employer will sponsor an H-1B, or they will lose their status. Another concern is someone's long-term employment status, because, once a worker is assigned an H-1B, they're put into a queue for a green card. A spouse can qualify for a work permit so long as that spot in the green-card queue is continuous, meaning a loss of employment for one family member could impact others as well.

Watson explained there are several backup options, such as a self-employment visa or tourist visa, but she recommended people speak with an immigration lawyer before making a decision.

"Plan ahead, see how much time you can get, look at all the visa options," Watson said. "These people are immigrants, people like us, like you and me. They have families, they have children, they have obligations, they have rent to pay car loans to pay. Suddenly, their entire lives are up in the air."

This is a re-airing of a previous story. You can find the original conversation here.