Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle have cut over 100,000 jobs since 2022. For visa holders, a layoff starts a 60-day clock to find new sponsorship or leave the country — and some aren't waiting to find out if they're next.
Some of Big Tech's most loyal employees are leaving voluntarily, and it has nothing to do with pay. Engineers on H-1B, F-1 STEM OPT and TN visas at Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle are walking away from six-figure jobs before a layoff notice can start a clock they can't control: 60 days to find a new visa sponsor or leave the United States. US tech-sector layoffs hit roughly 150,000 workers between January and July 2026 alone, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas — and this round, the fear is landing hardest on people whose legal right to stay in the country is tied directly to the job itself.
The clock that makes a layoff different for visa holders
For a US citizen, a layoff is a financial problem. For an H-1B holder, it's a legal one with a hard deadline attached, and immigration attorneys say that deadline is now shaping career decisions long before any layoff notice arrives.
1
Day 0 — the layoff notice: H-1B status is tied to the employer, so the 60-day countdown starts the moment employment ends.
2
Weeks 1-4 — the sponsor hunt: workers need a new employer willing to file a fresh H-1B petition, often competing with hundreds of other laid-off visa holders doing the exact same search.
3
Weeks 5-8 — the fallback options: switch to a dependent visa, enroll in a qualifying degree program, or start winding down life in the US if nothing lands.
4
Day 60 — the deadline: no new sponsor and no status change means leaving the country, regardless of how many years someone has lived and worked there.
Who's actually leaving, and why
For me, leaving Microsoft to start a business is a decision I don't think my future self will regret.
David Chong, former Microsoft engineer, TN visa
David Chong left Microsoft on his own terms to start a company rather than wait out another round of cuts. Vinit Juneja, on an F-1 STEM OPT visa, made a similar calculation and moved to chipmaker Applied Materials before any layoff touched him — he told Business Insider, 'I realized that no one's safe.' Ayush Raj Jha, an H-1B holder from India, watched repeated layoff rounds at Oracle and moved to a smaller private software company instead of waiting to find out if he'd be in the next one: 'There's constant fear and uncertainty,' he said.
100,000+
Combined Big Tech layoffs since 2022
Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Apple
~150,000
US tech layoffs, Jan-Jul 2026
Challenger, Gray & Christmas
30,000
Amazon cuts, two 2026 rounds
single largest company total cited
200,000+
H-1B approvals, 'Magnificent 7'
since October 2020
Not everyone is running
Not every visa holder is heading for the exits. Abhinav Bohra, an Amazon data scientist who's held an H-1B since 2019, says he's staying put: 'At companies like Amazon, we know that our visas and our documents are handled by experts.' For engineers at companies with dedicated immigration teams and a long sponsorship track record, riding out the uncertainty can genuinely look safer than starting over — at a smaller firm, in a new country, or in a business of their own with no legal department behind them.
How long do H-1B holders have to find a new job after a layoff?
60 days. After that grace period, without a new sponsoring employer, an approved status change, or enrollment in another qualifying program, they're required to leave the United States.
How many jobs has Big Tech cut in 2026?
US tech-sector layoffs reached roughly 150,000 workers between January and July 2026 alone, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, on top of more than 100,000 cut by Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Apple combined since 2022.
Are visa holders leaving the US entirely?
Some are — immigration attorneys report workers relocating to Canada, Australia and Europe. Others are staying in the US but moving to smaller companies, chipmakers like Applied Materials, or starting their own businesses instead of waiting for a layoff notice.
Why does a layoff hit H-1B holders harder than other employees?
Because H-1B status is legally tied to the sponsoring employer. Losing the job doesn't just mean losing income — it starts a fixed 60-day countdown on the right to remain in the country at all.
The 60-day rule applies regardless of how long someone has worked in the US. · Unsplash
What to watch next: whether Q3 earnings calls from Amazon, Microsoft and Meta bring another round of cuts on top of what's already landed, and whether USCIS sees a dip in H-1B petitions for the 2027 lottery as workers route around Big Tech entirely. The layoffs themselves are already reshaping housing markets in Seattle and have already outpaced all of 2025 — this is the version of that story that doesn't show up in a stock price.
