Individuals visiting the United States on a business or tourist visa can apply for new jobs and attend job interviews. In a tweet, US Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed that looking for work and interviewing for a job are both permissible B-1 or B-2 activities and can be done under such visa categories.
It clarified that 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.
The agency claimed that the person must leave the United States and be entered in an employment-authorized classification before beginning the new work if the change of status request is denied or the petition for new employment demands consular or port of entry notification.
As more and more workers are being laid off from tech companies, the department has outlined options available to the jobless professionals. Moreover, when a non-immigrant worker’s employment is terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily, they may take one of the following actions to remain in a period of authorised stay in the United States:
- File an application for a change of nonimmigrant status;
- File an application for adjustment of status;
- File an application for a “compelling circumstances” employment authorization document; or
- Be the beneficiary of a non-frivolous petition to change employers.
It is important to note that the US government is considering changes to immigration procedures. This is a perennial issue in the US legislature, with some Americans in favour of welcoming immigrants from other countries and others against it, citing reasons ranging from religious objections to economic concerns.
