Many immigrants obtain visas through employment. The company that they work for transfers them to a domestic location, or they accept a job offer with a domestic company. Their legal status within the United States depends on their employment and compliance with immigration rules.
Frequently, employment visas are eligible for renewal at least once. Of course, the nonimmigrant worker must usually maintain their position to keep their visa. If an immigrant gets laid off or fired while in the country with a work visa, does the loss of their job lead to removal from the country?
There are rules that benefit unemployed foreign workers
In theory, the loss of a job means that a non-immigrant employee living in the United States may have to return to their country of origin. However, most people who are eligible for employment visas have experience, training and skills that make them valuable to the domestic economy.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) acknowledges the potential contributions of skilled and educated foreign workers by extending a grace period after job loss. Those at risk of removal due to the termination of a job can potentially remain in the country if they acquire a new position within 60 days of losing their employment.
Occasionally, there may be other immigration opportunities available to professionals who enter the country for employment and then lose their jobs. Learning more about rules that govern employment-based immigration can be beneficial for those who enter the country for work. Job loss does not necessarily make a foreign worker ineligible to remain in the United States.