Richard Block Quoted in Quartz Article About Laid-off Tech Workers on H-1B visas

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (November 11, 2022) – Fort Lauderdale Partner and Chair of the Immigration Practice Richard J. Block was recently quoted in an article from Quartz – an international business-focused publication – on the recent mass-layoffs at major tech companies and the potential impact to employees on H-1B visas.

The H-1B program has enabled tech companies to hire foreign workers from countries like China and India due to the shortage of workers in the U.S. with technical skills. These recent layoffs at companies like Meta, Twitter, and Stripe have jeopardized employees on H-1B visas, who now have a 60-day grace period in which to file for an H-1B visa from another employer. They can also go back to school and change their status to a student visa to buy more time or apply for a B-2 visa to extend their time in the country.

“We know that there are many H-1B workers who will be affected by that layoff,” Mr. Block told Quartz. “My suspicion or belief is that there are still quite a few US employers that would be willing to hire those individuals.”

Mr. Block added that one of his clients recently changed to a policy of no longer sponsoring H-1B workers, but reverted to their old policy after having difficulty finding workers with the necessary skills to do the job.

Mr. Block has focused his practice on business immigration law for the past 20 years. He advises foreign nationals seeking to work in the United States, as well as foreign investors and domestic and international companies that wish to hire the most highly skilled individuals from around the world. His specialties include obtaining E-1 and E-2 visas, H-1B visas, L-1A and L-1B visas, O visas, TN visas, consular processing, and employment-based immigrant visas in all different categories and naturalization.

Read the full article here.