For temporary immigrants, job loss means the loss of a visa… and elibility to stay in the US

Complying with stay-at-home orders are becoming more difficult for immigrants on temporary visas. As companies close, immigrants are losing their jobs… and with them the visas that permit them to live and work lawfully in the US. Unless they can find a new employer willing to sponsor a visa, they are forced to leave or overstay their visa.

As this CNN story relays, many of these workers are left in limbo amid restricted travel to/from the US and their home countries. One high tech worker from China facing a lay-off found that she has not had much luck getting interviews and is not optimistic about being hired in the middle of a pandemic with a recession looming. She had resigned herself to going back to China — only to find out that she can’t with China restricting the number of direct flights into the country. She is worried that cobbling together a multi-stop trip could put her at risk of catching the virus. Her situation is part of a growing problem according to an immigration lawyer quoted in the story:

“(The immigration environment) was already bad, but this pandemic has propelled it to an even more dire situation. A lot of my clients who are here on work visas are extremely concerned.”