Tech firms warn foreign employees against travel as Trump’s new rule threatens to leave workers stranded
Tech giants Meta and Amazon have instructed employees on H-1B and H-4 visas to avoid international travel and, if already abroad, to return to the United States immediately. The urgent advisory comes as a new visa rule imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B petitions, reported gujaratsamachar.com.
The order, signed by US President Donald Trump on Friday, has sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley, where companies heavily depend on the H-1B programme to hire skilled professionals, many of them from India.
Failure to re-enter before deadline could leave workers and families stranded abroad
Amazon issued internal emails urging employees to remain in the US until further clarity emerges and asked those abroad to return by Saturday midnight. Meta echoed the advisory, recommending that H-1B and H-4 holders avoid leaving the country for at least two weeks, and urging those overseas to return within 24 hours. Microsoft also rolled out internal guidelines, discouraging international travel “for the foreseeable future.”
Immigration lawyers and experts have criticised the sudden and steep cost increase, calling it the harshest in the programme’s history and warning that it effectively blocks access to foreign professionals unless companies pay exorbitant fees.
The H-1B visa programme allows US employers to hire foreign nationals in speciality occupations, particularly in technology and engineering. With the rule coming into force in less than a day, both employers and employees are racing to prevent disruptions that could separate thousands from their jobs and families.
