contract-law employment immigration visa
Is a US company obligated to lay off visa holders first over citizens?
<p>With the current big tech firing frenzy I'd like to know if a US company must prefer the US citizens over working visa holders during mass lay offs?</p>
<p>Let's say if there are 2 software developers but one is an immigrant, a working visa holder and the second is a citizen. They are both at the same level, professionally.</p>
<p>Must the American companies prioritize citizens in keeping them hired and let the foreign nationals go?</p>
<p>I know when a company sponsoring working visas they must prove the need and show they aren't able to source workers inside the US prior to getting the visas for the foreign candidates. So logically, it might follow that they should also priorities the citizens in case of mass lay offs. Can a company be sued by a citizen for keeping the foreign national if he can prove the wrong doing?</p>
<p>Is there any reference in working visas(i.e.H1B) application saying something that in case of mass lay offs these conditions can happen?</p>

<p>There is no law in the US that mandates hiring preference for US citizens over others. Such a preference would be <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/national-origin-discrimination" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;national origin discrimination&quot;</a>, which</p>
<blockquote>
<p>involves treating people (applicants or employees) unfavorably because
they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of
ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic
background (even if they are not).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Preferring US citizens entails dispreferring others, such as some of those who come from another country. The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/senate-bill/1200/text" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986</a> makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate with respect to hiring, firing, or recruitment based upon an individual's citizenship or immigration status.</p>
<p>An employer is however allowed, indeed required, to obey any overriding federal law, for example they can refuse to hire a person who has no legal right be being employed because their visa does not allow employment.</p>
