BELLEVUE, Wash. — More tech layoffs are hitting western Washington as Microsoft will lay off nearly 700 more local workers starting in May.
The notice on Monday comes after a wave of layoffs this year including 1,500 cuts at Microsoft in January and February and another 2,300 at Amazon. The effective layoff date for many of those jobs is just weeks away.
That means the clock is ticking for those tech workers here on H-1B visas who have 60 days to either find a new job or leave the country.
An H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant classification for people who wish to work in the country on a temporary basis.
While companies do not typically disclose the number of laid-off workers on visas, data from the US Department of Labor shows more than 6,400 workers on H-1B visas in Washington. That's about 7% of the country's H-1B workforce.
The pressure of a possible layoff is having a ripple effect on spouses and families, many on dependent visas who can't work themselves.
The topic is front and center at the North Bellevue Community Center where the nonprofit Indian American Community Services said the number of people requesting their free legal services has nearly doubled in the last few months.
"Many of these families are new to this country, just a few months, they have wrapped up everything in India and they look for their future here and they're worried what if the husbands get laid off," said Kunjan Kapoor who works as a legal coordinator with IACS.
Kapoor said it's a scary time of uncertainty for families. Some families are putting off buying property and scheduling medical appointments.
"My husband is working day and night, I don't know what he's doing he can't take one day off (not) even Saturday and Sunday," said Eakshatha Jain who is on a dependent visa from India and whose husband works at Amazon. "He's working because he wants to prove himself to stay on that team .. and that's cumulating affecting the whole family as well."
Jain said her family was thrilled when last year her husband got a new job, but ever since the layoffs, she's been trying to stay positive and protect her kids who have not been back to India in years and call America home.
"During these layoffs especially we don't know the reason we don't know when so whenever he opens his laptop he's hoping nothing is done and it's like ok good I have access to my things and all," Jain said.
Kapoor said it's not unusual for people who have been laid off to try and buy more time either by applying for a tourist visa which can extend their stay by six months or funding a start-up with a group of people to stay on a pay roll, but she said these moves are risky.
"There are some of these options, but mostly people return to India with the hope of reapplying in the future," Kapoor said.