Technological companies warn H-1B visa holders to avoid foreign trips

Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and other technological companies have sent messages to affected employees telling them to return to the United States on Saturday and cancel any plan to leave the country after the White House said on Friday that the new rules would come into effect on Sunday.

A White House official said on Saturday that costs only affect new visas – not renewals or current visa holders – and will be applied in the next lottery cycle.

Later on Saturday afternoon, a White House account on X published a message saying that Trump’s announcement does not apply to current visa holders. He added: “The proclamation has no impact on the capacity of a current visa holder to go to / from the United States”

Nevertheless, the uncertainties surrounding the way in which the change will be applied and applied caused confusion and dismay through American companies and encourages companies and lawyers in immigration to urge current visa holders to be careful.

Microsoft told his employees that he understood that “these developments create uncertainty for many of you.” This added: “Although we do not have all the answers at the moment, we ask you to prioritize the above recommendations.”

Several visa holders have said that disruptive and overwhelming changes. Lawrence, 34, was to go from the United Kingdom to the Bay region on Monday to start its new job in engineering. As the decree was signed, he had crowded everything, he had sold his car, had put his house to rent and said goodbye to all his loved ones in the United Kingdom.

Lawrence, who does not want to include her surname and her name of the company for fear of reprisals, was advised by the immigration lawyers of her business to stay in the United Kingdom until they have more information.

A Google employee who asked for anonymity described the cancellation of a trip to Tokyo to visit his family due to the announcement of the White House.

Amazon has also warned visa holders dependent on H-4, who are for spouses and people with H-1B visas, to stay in the United States.

The H-1B Visa program is strongly used by the technology sector, which uses the VISA program to bring qualified workers from abroad. Financial companies and consulting companies also use the program.

Companies with the greatest number of H1-B visas are Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Microsoft, Meta Platforms Inc. and Apple Inc., according to the US government. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Walmart Inc. rank 8th and 9th, according to American government data.

Each year, employers deposit petitions by March for a lottery in April, with 65,000 visas available over 20,000 for American master’s graduates. In 2025, more than 470,000 requests were submitted and approved workers can start on October 1.

Ernst & Young LLP told his visa holders to return to the United States on Saturday. “Our continuous advice is to limit international trips as far as possible, whatever the type of visa,” said the e-mail, noting that other changes and travel restrictions are possible. The companies refused to comment or have not responded to requests for comments on their visa advice.

Walmart has published similar advice in a memo to employees, adding that he continued to “interpret recent changes to Visa H-1B policy” and to share the advice “by abundance of prudence”. The company wrote that “until the situation and the intention of the decree are clear”, he recommended that employees holding the visas will not leave the United States.

Read more: why Trump wants to charge $ 100,000 for H-1B visas

Rakhel Milstein, an immigration lawyer who founded Milstein Law Group, said that she expected a “full chaos” after spending the whole night for calls with visas holders in technological societies, non -profit groups and other companies.

“We have customers who have just obtained their visa stamps from the consulates in India, and now they will recover their passport on Monday,” she said. “Does that mean that they can’t come back?”

Milstein said she expects the new policy to be disputed immediately before the court and that a rapid injunction is likely.

Current H-1B visa holders said they are deeply unstable by program changes.

Erika L., who is an Asian country and works in finance in the Greater New York region, asked for anonymity to discuss the announcement.

“I have the impression at that time, I am a little lost and I do not know how this policy will apply to people who have already obtained their visa,” she said. “If it doesn’t work, I just said to my friends, it’s okay, I can just move to Europe, move to Asia for work. I have already lived here for almost 10 years, so I think it is really difficult to suddenly wonder to leave this country because I am not mentally prepared to leave everything I have known for 10 years.”

The Trump administration has launched the changes as part of a broader plan to strengthen legitimate applications while eliminating abuse. But companies discreetly fear that the price of $ 100,000 will not be sustainable for their job needs.

Read more: new H-1B costs of $ 100,000 only for new candidates, says an American official

Friday, by addressing journalists, Trump defined a question on the question of whether the leaders of the technology company would be concerned with the action.

“I think they are going to be very happy. Everyone is going to be happy. And we will be able to keep people in our country who are going to be very productive people,” said Trump. “And in many cases, these companies will pay a lot of money for this and they are very happy.”

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