Google, Apple and Microsoft have internally warned H-1B visa holders they could get stuck abroad for months
According to a Business Insider report, major US technology firms such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft have cautioned their foreign employees on H-1B visas against international travel. This warning comes as President Donald Trump’s stricter immigration policies could potentially strand these workers overseas for months.
The H-1B visa permits foreign nationals to be employed in specialized fields within the United States, usually for a period of three years. To extend their stay, workers must have their visas stamped at a US embassy or consulate outside the country. However, routine appointments for this process are now experiencing major delays due to a new requirement for social-media checks, which applies to H-1B visa holders, their families, as well as students and exchange visitors.
Internal company documents seen by Business Insider indicate that Google, Apple, Microsoft, and the IT automation company ServiceNow are some of the firms recommending that employees with visas refrain from traveling abroad.
After taking office again in January, Trump has reinstated a stringent policy on border control and visa enforcement designed to reduce illegal immigration. In response to an attack on two National Guard soldiers in Washington in late November, the president introduced further actions, such as halting asylum processes and broadening travel restrictions for citizens from 19 nations.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV-1) program, often referred to as the Green Card Lottery, was suspended as well. This decision came after US officials found that a person suspected in recent shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had used this program to enter the United States.