Why Apple, Amazon, Google are warning H-1B employees against leaving the US | All details here

Amidst the Trump administration’s stricter immigration policies, leading tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft are advising their H-1B and green card visa holders to refrain from international travel.

The growing fear stems from recent government actions, including the revocation of visas and green cards for people accused of supporting groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Many foreign workers in high-tech industries, who have followed immigration rules, had previously felt secure in building their lives in the US, but these actions have created uncertainty and anxiety among them, The Washington Post reported.

“What we’re seeing right now is just a lot of worry and panic,” Malcolm Goeschl, principal attorney at Goeschl Law, a San Francisco-based firm specialising in business immigration for the tech sector, was quoted as saying in the report.

“It seems like [the administration is] just getting more and more momentum, and we don’t know what’s around the corner,” he added.

As uncertainty mounts, Silicon Valley’s immigrant tech community, a cornerstone of US innovation and global competitiveness, is confronting growing challenges.

Citing a 2018 study by the National Foundation for American Policy, a think tank focused on trade and immigration, the report said that more than half of US start-ups valued at over $1 billion had immigrant founders or co-founders.

Among them are the CEOs of major tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Uber, and Nvidia, all of whom are immigrants, the report added.

Experts warn that limiting visas for immigrant tech workers could undermine the industry's ability to compete with China in the global race for advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.

“The beauty of our tech ecosystem is that you can hire the best and brightest from anywhere,” Divyansh Kaushik, vice president at Beacon Global Strategies, a think tank advising tech companies on geopolitical risks, was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.

In Silicon Valley, tech giants rely heavily on H1B visas to employ thousands of workers, with this visa category now at the heart of the ongoing debate.

India tops H1B visa approvals

Each year, around 65,000 H1B visas are granted through a lottery system, with India leading the list of recipients, followed by China and Canada, as per US Citizenship and Immigration Services data.

Amazon tops the list of big tech companies in terms of H1B approvals, followed by Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple. Tesla, under CEO Elon Musk’s leadership, approved 1,767 H1B visas in the fiscal year ending September 2024, the report said.

Spokespeople from Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon chose not to comment, while Apple did not respond to a request for comment, according to the report.

The debate over H1B visas has brought to light a growing division within Trump’s coalition, with tech leaders pushing for more immigrant talent while others advocate for stricter immigration measures.

This split reportedly became evident in December when the two sides clashed on X, sparking a heated debate on whether Trump should promote or restrict skilled immigration to the US.