In a significant guidance to its employees, technology major Amazon has asked its employees holding H-1B and H-4 visas to stay back in the United States, after a recent development related to immigration. In a memo accessed by Reuters, the tech major instructed its visa-holding staff, “If you have H-1B status and are in the US, stay in the country for now.”
The advisory also advised H-1B and H-4 visa holders who are already outside the US to return to the US prior to the deadline of 12:00 am EDT on September 21.
Microsoft, JP Morgan Release Similar Alerts
The Amazon warning comes in tandem with other big firms’ similar warnings. Microsoft has also been said to have asked its H-1B and H-4 visa holders to travel back to the United States of America before the expiry, sending a message that read, “We strongly recommend H-1B and H-4 visa holders return to the US tomorrow before the deadline.”
Also, a Reuters report reveals that JPMorgan’s outside immigration counsel has instructed its H-1B visa workers to stay in the U.S. and avoid all worldwide travel until notified further.
New $100,000 H-1B Fee Sparks Concerns
The scramble to counsel workers follows a proclamation signed by US President Donald Trump on Friday. The new policy, to be implemented on September 21, slaps a whopping $100,000 per year fee on all H-1B visa petitions. The rule will be effective for 12 months and has the potential to hit hard Indian technology workers, the largest H-1B visa holders.
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