United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS confirmed in a series of tweets that Business and visits visa holders mainly known as B1 and B2 visas of the United States will now be able to apply for jobs and attend interviews during their stay. The B visa series is B1 for business and B2 for tourism purposes. The US department USCIS announced it on 22 March through the following tweet:
“Many people have asked if they can look for a new job while in B-1 or B-2 status. The answer is, yes. Searching for employment and interviewing for a position are permissible B-1 or B-2 activities.”
This new development will allow many of the visit visa holders to apply for jobs and after a successful job offer can convert their visa status into a work visa. This has also been confirmed through a tweet by the USCIS as follows:
“Before beginning any new employment, a petition and request for a change of status from B-1 or B-2 to an employment-authorized status must be approved, and the new status must take effect.”
“If you are in B-1 or B-2 status, please remember you may not engage in employment within the domestic labor market (also known as “local labor for hire”) while in B-1 status or engage in any employment while in B-2 status.”
“Alternatively, if the change of status request is denied or the petition for new employment requested consular or port of entry notification, the individual must depart the U.S. and be admitted in an employment-authorized classification before beginning the new employment.”
This main issue came into focus from the United States after numerous foreign workers have been laid off by big tech companies and are now on the search for their next employment before their visa grace period ends. The ongoing grace period given to those terminated from their jobs is 60 days. However, a presidential advisory panel has recommended a grace period of 180 days.