Layoff event: 2026 rounds · Page reviewed July 2026
Laid off from Amazon on H-1B? Here’s your next 60 days.
Media reports put Amazon’s 2026 reductions at roughly 16,000 rolesacross retail, AWS, devices, and operations, with additional site-level actions reported through the summer. Amazon is consistently among the largest H-1B sponsors in the country, so every round puts visa holders on the 60-day clock. Exact numbers and orgs vary by report; the immigration math below doesn’t.
Your clock starts the day you stop being paid, not the day of the announcement.
Amazon separations commonly involve a notification date followed by a transition period — the notification date, last working day, and last paid day can be three different dates, and the 60-day grace period under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) runs from the end of employment. Confirm your exact last-paid date in your separation paperwork, then run the 60-day grace calculator with that date.
Days 0-7: lock in the basics
- Get your separation terms in writing.Confirm the exact last-paid date, severance amount, RSU treatment (Amazon’s back-loaded vesting schedule makes the cutoff date unusually consequential), COBRA terms, and any immigration-support commitments — petition-withdrawal timing and a layoff (not for-cause) confirmation letter.
- Print your I-94 history from i94.cbp.dhs.gov and your I-797 history from my.uscis.gov.
- Confirm I-140 status. Approved more than 180 days = your priority date stays with you under AC21 §106 even after withdrawal. Document it now.
- If your spouse works on an H-4 EAD: under the Oct-30-2025 rule, EAD renewals filed on/after that date get no automatic extension — a household work-authorization gap is often the bigger financial risk. Run the EAD gap calculator with their card’s dates.
Days 7-30: parallel paths
- H-1B transfer (highest priority).A new employer’s I-129 received by USCIS inside your grace window starts AC21 portability — you can work from receipt. The 2026 market is absorbing laid-off talent slowly, so widen beyond big tech: cap-exempt employers (universities, research nonprofits, teaching hospitals) file year-round with no lottery.
- B-2 visitor backstop. File I-539 early — not on day 58 — and score your timing with the B-2 conversion risk calculator. USCIS posture on post-layoff B-2 filings has reportedly tightened; calibrate with an attorney.
- EB-2 NIW pivot. AWS engineers, applied scientists, and senior SDEs frequently meet NIW criteria — a self-petition, no employer needed. Run the EB-1A / NIW scorer and evidence builder.
- Priority date current? Evaluate I-485 now — with the PM-602-0199 discretion memo in mind: front-load equities via the AOS Equities Builder before filing.
Severance: the H-1B-specific levers
Whatever your package terms, the same three visa-aware levers apply before signing:
- Push for a later last-paid date or converting part of severance to paid transition time — every extra paid week delays the 60-day clock. A post-separation lump sum does NOT extend status.
- RSU cliff math matters more at Amazon than almost anywhere: with back-loaded vesting, the difference between a last-paid date before vs. after your next vest can be five figures. Ask explicitly.
- Run the visa-aware numbers in the free severance optimizer — including the non-resident-alien tax trap on a panicked 401(k) cash-out.
What if nothing works by day 50?
- Compare an orderly departure against marginal stay options with the departure cost calculator and country hedge calculator.
- An approved I-140 keeps your priority date for life — leaving and returning later does not erase it.
- Re-entry planning note: new H-1B petitions requiring consular processing may currently involve the $100,000 fee (litigation status here) — in-US transfers and extensions are not affected.
Amazon actions have come in waves
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This page summarizes publicly reported information about Amazon’s 2026 layoffs (figures per media reports as of July 2026; exact numbers and orgs vary by report) and general H-1B post-termination options. It is not legal advice and is not affiliated with Amazon. Consult an immigration attorney for your specific situation.