Foreigners face stress as unemployment rises

Following the dot-com bust in 2000, many high-tech workers were laid off and some foreign workers returned overseas. This time, immigration attorneys say the pain began primarily in the financial sector — though manufacturing and technology companies have also started eliminating jobs.

One of the biggest challenges for laid off visaholders is the lack of a grace period to leave. Companies must provide a return ticket home for workers, who may try to switch to another visa, such as a six month tourist visa, to buy time to pack their bags or look for another job.

Immigrants seeking green cards — which would let them remain in the country permanently — face different problems. If they are laid off, they can stay and look for a new job but must find one before the government reviews their paperwork, which could take months or years, depending how far along they are in the process. The bottom line: no employer, no green card.

Harsh Dharwad, a 31-year old electrical engineer from India, said he made a quick move to California with his wife and 1-year old daughter in September after the automotive supplier where he worked in Alabama began shedding workers.

"It was a tough decision to make but I didn't want to get stuck in a position where if I got laid off, I could be in a no-win situation," said Dharwad, who now works for a medical device company.

During an economic slump, companies may reduce hiring abroad to scale back on legal fees. They also may do so to comply with U.S. laws that ban firms from sponsoring foreigners for green cards to replace laid off American workers, said Robert Hoffman, president of government and public affairs at Oracle and co-chair of Compete America, a coalition that supports bringing more skilled workers to the United States.

A clearer picture of the recession's impact on foreign workers could emerge in April when companies can request visas for workers they hope to hire in 2009.

The demand for visas tends to mirror the rise and fall of the U.S. economy — which has many attorneys guessing that cash-strapped companies will ask for fewer visas this spring.

"I think they're looking at every penny and this is a short-term cost they may want to avoid," said Tim Barker, partner at Fragomen in Los Angeles.

For the last six years, the demand for the visas has surpassed a 65,000 annual cap put in place by Congress, with 163,000 applications filed last year.

In the late 1990s, the U.S. temporarily raised the quota and more than 100,000 visas were issued each year. But demand for the visas waned to 79,000 on the heels of the tech industry decline, according to the National Foundation for American Policy.

Ironically, if fewer companies apply for visas, foreign professionals who have job offers in the United States may find themselves in luck: there would be fewer competitors for one of the coveted spots doled out in the government's annual visa lottery.

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