Lawyers for Apple, Google, and Microsoft have reportedly told staff to stay in the US, if they require a visa stamp to re-enter the country.

Back in 2020, President Trump signed an executive order suspending foreign work visas, including the H-1B one that lets firms employ graduate workers in speciality occupations. Apple objected at the time, but that was about the issuing of new H-1B visas. What's happening now concerns staff who already have one.

Such an employee must have a valid visa stamp in their passport to re-enter the US. According to Business Insider, lawyers advising Apple, Google, and Microsoft say that there are now delays in getting such a stamp of up to a year.

Consequently, law firm Fragomen, representing Apple, reportedly contacted visa holders in the company to warn them against traveling.

"Given the recent updates and the possibility of unpredictable, extended delays when returning to the U.S., we strongly recommend that employees without a valid H-1B visa stamp avoid international travel for now," the firm told visa holders. "If travel cannot be postponed, employees should connect with Apple Immigration and Fragomen in advance to discuss the risks."

Microsoft's associate general counsel for immigration, Jack Chen, sent a similar warning to the company's visa holders. "For employees currently stuck abroad, we know this is an anxious moment," he wrote.

"We will provide clear and orderly guidance to you directly as soon as we can," he continued. But he also advised that staff "strongly consider changing" their travel plans if they can.

Chan's email was sympathetic up to a point, but then probably undid all of its reassurance with one line. "There are limitations to your ability to perform work for your US role during that period," he wrote.

What's happening

The delays are being caused because of a revision to H-1B re-entry process. As of December 15, 2025, embassies and consulates overseas are required to conduct what the Trump administration calls "online presence reviews for applicants."

What this means is that someone who already has a H-1B visa but is re-entering the US and needs their visa re-stamped, has to have their social media investigated. So will their spouse or children if they are entering the US on the associated H-4 visa.

"While in the past the emphasis may have been on processing cases quickly and reducing wait times," a spokesperson for the State Department said, "our embassies and consulates around the world, including in India, are now prioritizing thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else."

As of September 2025, Trump's administration imposed a $100,000 fee for filing for a new H-1B visa. That plus the new social media screening is part of continuing moves to limit immigration, which Apple and Google have protested against since 2017 — and since then, Tim Cook has taken the rare step of personally decrying the moves.