The 60-Day Problem
When a company lays off an H1B worker, the clock starts immediately. Workers have 60 days to find a new employer willing to sponsor a transfer petition, or they must leave the country or change to a different visa status. For someone with a family, a mortgage, and a green card application already years deep in the backlog, that 60-day window isn't generous.
The tech layoffs that began in late 2022 and continued through 2024-2026 hit H1B workers disproportionately hard. Not because companies targeted them, but because the industries that laid off the most workers are the same industries that sponsor the most H1Bs.
Who Got Hit
Software Engineering alone accounts for 10,397 H1B petitions in recent USCIS data, making it the highest-volume job category by a significant margin. Software Developers add another 8,025. These two categories represent a substantial chunk of total H1B volume, and they're exactly where the tech industry cut hardest.
The major employers in these categories:
| Employer | Petitions Filed | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 4,763 | $170,653 |
| Microsoft | 4,046 | $171,069 |
| Cognizant | 4,641 | $112,422 |
| 1,770 | $198,976 | |
| Meta | 1,808 | $216,934 |
| Apple | 1,397 | $181,708 |
Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all conducted large-scale layoffs since 2022. H1B workers at these companies faced the same cuts as everyone else, with the added complication of immigration status.
The Two-Tier Problem
Not all H1B layoffs are equal. There's a sharp divide between workers at high-paying tech companies (Google, Meta, Netflix averaging $215,000-$243,000) and workers placed through IT staffing firms (Cognizant at $112,422, Tata Consultancy at $91,793, Infosys at $102,321).
Workers at FAANG-level companies tend to have more options in the job market and can often land a new sponsor within 60 days. Workers placed through staffing firms (often earning at or just above the prevailing wage floor) have a harder time. Their skills may be more commoditized, the pool of willing sponsors is smaller, and the salary gaps between their current role and available positions may be more extreme.
The VisaTrack database shows 500 distinct job categories across 239,000+ LCA filings. Software Engineers in California average $187,469. The same title in Texas averages $104,507. A laid-off engineer in San Jose has very different options from one in New Jersey.
Green Card Backlogs Make It Worse
For workers who are years into the EB-2 or EB-3 green card process (which for Indian nationals can mean 10-20+ year waits given current priority date backlogs), a layoff doesn't just threaten their job. It potentially resets or jeopardizes years of immigration progress, depending on where they are in the process.
If an I-140 petition has already been approved, it's generally portable after 180 days in the green card process. But for workers still early in the process, a layoff can mean starting over from scratch with a new employer.
What the Petition Data Shows
The volume of H1B petitions filed in tech has remained high despite layoffs. This indicates that companies are continuing to sponsor new workers even while conducting layoffs, which creates an odd situation where workers with H1B status are being let go while new H1B applications are being filed for similar roles. This is legal, but it's generated significant controversy in tech communities.
The companies with the highest total petition volumes (Amazon at 4,763, Microsoft at 4,046) are also among the companies that have conducted the most significant layoffs. This creates real displacement in the H1B workforce even as overall petition numbers stay high.
The Practical Reality
If you're an H1B worker facing potential layoffs, here are the concrete steps to take:
Track your 60-day clock precisely. The clock starts on your last day, not when you're notified.Begin the job search immediately. Waiting until your last day is too late. Start applying and alerting your network when you hear rumors of cuts.Know your I-140 status. If your I-140 is approved and you've been in the green card process for 180+ days, you have more portability than you may realize.Consider cap-exempt employers. Universities and nonprofit research organizations can file H1B petitions year-round without the lottery. They typically pay less, but they can be a bridge.Search employers by approval history → | Compare salary data by state → | See H1B filing volumes →Data from USCIS H1B employer data hub and DOL OFLC LCA disclosure files.