India, Aug. 20 -- Vinay Maheshwari's carefully-structured life in the United States was upended with just one call. Sometime last year, while he was working in Philadelphia on a H-1B visa, Maheshwari received a call from his manager informing him that he was being laid off.

Maheshwari, who is originally from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, had spent years in the US - first as a student and then as a corporate employee. The 15-minute phone call brought an abrupt end to years of hard work.

Working in the US on an H-1B visa, the Indian man had just 60 days to look for a new job or face the prospect of returning to India.

"On a work visa, a layoff isn't just losing a job. You get 60 days. Find someone to sponsor you or leave the country," he tol...