Big Tech layoffs, H-1B Visas Fee Hike, Recession Fears: What Will Happen To Techies' Great American Dream?

The application fees for employment-based visas, such as H1-B and L, are set to increase under a proposed US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Under the new proposal, the application fee for H-1B visas for high-skilled workers would jump by 70 per cent to $780.

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Last year several Big tech companies including Amazon, Salesforce, Meta, Twitter, and Uber laid off employees as well as put a total freeze on new hiring. Several Indian-origin workers were also laid off in late 2022. This year is not very different with Amazon continuing with layoffs and other big tech firms set to follow amid recession fears and global macroeconomic conditions. 

US tech firms employ a large number of Indian-origin techies. In mass layoffs, these techies are also being affected. According to stringent US visa regulations these workers get only 60 days to find a new job or leave the country. 

In 2023, these conditions are going to worsen. The application fees for employment-based visas, such as H1-B and L, are set to increase under a proposed US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee rule to recover operating costs and prevent case backlogs, reported IANS. 

Under the new proposal, the application fee for H-1B visas for high-skilled workers would jump by 70 per cent to $780. H-1B visa petitioners would also need to pay $215 in pre-registration fees, up from the current $10 fee.

"Although an increase from $10 to $215 may appear dramatic at first glance, the $10 fee was established simply to cover a small portion of the costs of the program, as opposed to no fee at all," the USCIS said according to IANS. 

However, on the brighter side, one survey by ZipRecruiter has revealed that nearly 79 per cent of laid-off workers in the tech industry landed a new job within three months. Adding that nearly four in 10 previously laid-off tech workers found jobs less than a month after they began searching.