As artificial intelligence reshapes the global tech industry, many Indian professionals working in the United States are facing growing uncertainty around jobs, visas, and their future in the country.
A recent post on X captured the emotional toll these layoffs are having on Indian families abroad. The user shared the story of a friend who was recently laid off from Meta.
“An Indian engineer at Meta gets the layoff email at 11pm Bangalore time.
His wife is on H-4. His kid is in 3rd grade in Seattle. His Bellevue apartment lease has 8 months left. His H-1B clock just started ticking — 60 days.
Meta’s stock went up on the news. Zuck called it becoming more efficient.
This is what AI transformation actually looks like for 2 lakh Indians abroad.
Ai impact on Indians abroad is highest”
The post quickly resonated online as layoffs continue across major technology companies including Amazon, Oracle, and Meta. Thousands of Indian professionals on H-1B visas are now reportedly struggling to stay in the United States after losing their jobs.
READ: Rufo revives H-1B debate as tech layoffs fuel worker anxiety (May 12, 2026)
According to a recent report by The Economic Times (ET), foreign workers on H-1B visas are given only 60 days to secure another employer willing to sponsor their visa after a layoff. If they fail to do so within that period, they are expected to leave the country.
For many Indian workers who have spent years building careers, raising families, and settling into American life, the pressure has become intense. Families are now dealing with mortgage payments, apartment leases, children in schools, and uncertain immigration timelines all at once.
Many laid-off workers are reportedly attempting to switch temporarily to B-2 visitor visas to buy more time in the U.S. This status can allow them to remain in the country for up to six months while they search for a new employer. However, immigration experts say the process has become far more difficult in recent months.
“We are seeing a significant spike in RFEs and Notices of Intent to Deny on B-1/B-2 change-of-status applications filed by laid-off H-1B workers,” said U.S.-based immigration attorney Rajiv Khanna.
Khanna said the number of cases his firm is currently handling is unlike anything he has seen before in his career. Other immigration experts also told ET that requests for additional evidence and visa denials have increased sharply.
READ: Here are all the tech layoffs that took place so far in 2026 (February 6, 2026)
The immigration crisis is unfolding alongside large-scale job cuts across the tech sector. According to Layoffs.fyi, more than 110,000 employees have already lost jobs across 144 technology companies in 2026 alone. Immigration experts believe thousands of those affected workers could be H-1B visa holders, many of them from India.
Indians continue to dominate the H-1B visa system in the United States. A 2026 report from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) showed that Indians accounted for 283,772 of the 406,348 approved H-1B petitions in FY25.
As AI-driven restructuring accelerates across Silicon Valley, the conversation is no longer just about technology replacing jobs. For thousands of Indian families abroad, it has also become a story about immigration uncertainty, financial pressure, and the fear of having to rebuild their lives within just 60 days.