Big Tech and finance companies are telling H-1B employees to get to the US in under 24 hours
Source: Business Insider
EXCLUSIVE
Big Tech and finance companies are telling H-1B employees to get to the US in under 24 hours
By Pranav Dixit
Sep 20, 2025, 3:09 AM ET
* President Donald Trump's executive order raises H-1B visa fees, affecting tech and finance workers.
* The order requires a $100,000 fee for H-1B applications.
* Big Tech employees were told to stay put, per employees and internal comms reviewed by Business Insider.
Employees at major tech and financial companies on H-1B visas were told to stay in the US following President Donald Trump's surprise executive order that makes it far more expensive and potentially impossible for them to return if they travel abroad.
Amazon, Microsoft, JPMorgan, and Meta are among those companies, per employees and internal communications reviewed by Business Insider.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order requiring companies to pay a $100,000 fee for each H-1B application or renewal. The order, which takes effect on September 21 at 12:01 a.m. ET, effectively bars H-1B workers from reentering the country after that deadline unless their sponsoring employer pays the fee.
Amazon's internal guidance, posted just before 9 p.m. Pacific on Friday on its HR portal, warned employees: "If you have H-1B status and are in the US: Stay in the country for now, even if you have travel planned for the immediate future."
The guidance also said: "If you have H-1B or H-4 status and are outside the US: Try to return before tomorrow's deadline if possible."
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Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-employees-h-1b-visa-travel-return-trump-eo-2025-9

WestMichRad
(2,620 posts)Medium and smaller companies that cant afford the fees but need H-1B visa specialist workers are screwed.
TheFarseer
(9,660 posts)Donald Trump finally did something that I basically agree with. Really sick of foreign workers replacing qualified American workers in these high quality tech jobs just to save a wealthy corporation a few bucks. I wonder what his actual motive is? We all know he could give a flying fuck about American workers.
mpcamb
(3,139 posts)uncle ray
(3,267 posts)and we are not educating enough of them here.
it's now a moot point as our economy's days of thriving and growing are over.
mathematic
(1,592 posts)"The actual motive" is to expel Indian immigrants. That is what you agree with.
TheFarseer
(9,660 posts)Has been abused for a long time to displace American workers, most of the time for low level tech jobs. Foreign H-1B workers will work for less money and be more compliant for fear of being deported which lowers working conditions for everyone. I think reasonable people can disagree on this issue but thats how I see it.
Lucky Luciano
(11,744 posts)I was did a pure math PhD at ucla. Many foreigners were classmates.
Now China and India will suffer less from their brain drains to us.
cbabe
(5,589 posts)Dr. T
(398 posts)Translation: the tech leaches fucked around and are finding out. Somewhere in a remote South African cave, Elon is weeping.
miyazaki
(2,535 posts)We are not going to rebuild our academics fast enough to salvage a generation lost to reality tv, reactionary radio, and social media ills. Do the arguments of exploitation also carry over to another foreign sector, migrant farm workers, restaurant and hospitaity? They must be 'stealing' millions of our jobs. Kick em' all out. Well that's what's happening.
This nation is losing fast and hard.