Sumeru Chatterjee, a former customer success manager

 Sumeru Chatterjee, a former customer success manager 

in San Francisco, had been working in the United States for nearly a decade and even began to call it home. "I had a comfortable narrative in my head that this would continue to be my life. But the economic ripples of the COVID-19 pandemic made me realize the limitations of the H-1B process."

After he was laid off in 2020, Chatterjee also realized the 60 grace period wasn't as graceful as it seemed. "It's a pretty arbitrary number and during that time, you can't work part time, freelance, or pick up any gigs for extra income. Any future sponsorship must be of similar occupation and salary. Otherwise, you are deported at the end of your 60 days."

Many H-1B visa holders are stuck — yearslong delays and unprecedented backlogs to apply and receive Permanent Residency Cards leave workers precariously bound to their employers and new obstacles are erected with each wave of layoffs. Notably, many visa holders file the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) through their employers as the first step to move from visa holder to permanent resident. However, after recent mass layoffs at Google, the company is pausing any future PERM applications, further entrenching visa holders in uncertainty, distress, and consequential loyalty to the corporation.

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