According to multiple media reports, the large tech companies are responding to dramatic changes to President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa application and dramatic changes to H-1B visa applications.
The White House announced Friday that Trump had signed a declaration requiring his employer to pay $100,000 for his H-1B visa application. In response, Amazon, Google and Microsoft reportedly sent emails to employees to stay in the US to those with H-1B visas and avoid travelling abroad for now. If you are already traveling, you will be back before the declaration comes into effect at 12:01am on Sunday.
Business Insider published notes from Amazon and Microsoft, while Sources published similar notes from Google. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment. TechCrunch is also in contact with Amazon and Google.
According to government data, Amazon employees have received most H-1B visas so far this fiscal year, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, followed by Microsoft, Meta and Apple, with Google ranked sixth.
Meanwhile, White House officials told Axios that the fees will only apply to new applicants, not existing H-1B holders or renewals. And in a post from X, White House press director Karoline Leavitt said, “H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as usual. Whatever their ability is not affected by yesterday’s declaration.”
This post was updated with a quote from Karoline Leavitt.
Source link
