After Google, Apple Flags Risk Of Workers Being Stranded Overseas As US Visa Appointments Face Months-Long Delays

After Alphabet’s Google, Apple has also warned some of its employees on US work visas to avoid international travel, citing severe delays and abrupt cancellations in visa renewal appointments at American consulates abroad. The advisories come amid growing backlogs in visa processing that have left many highly skilled workers stranded outside the United States for months. 

According to a Business Insider report published on Friday, both Apple and Google issued urgent internal memos to visa-holding staff, cautioning them against leaving the US unless absolutely necessary. The companies warned that employees risk being unable to return to the country for extended periods due to visa stamping delays that could stretch up to 12 months. 

Delays linked To New Social Media Vetting 

Immigration law firms representing the companies said the delays stem from newly implemented social media screening requirements by US authorities. These additional checks have reportedly slowed down visa interview scheduling and approvals across multiple consulates.

Legal experts warned that even applicants with long-standing work histories in the US are being affected by the changes.

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Hundreds Of H-1B Workers Stranded

According to a Washington Post report, hundreds, possibly thousands, of highly skilled workers have had their visa appointments cancelled over the past two weeks. Many of those impacted are H-1B visa holders who travelled to India in December to renew their work permits.

Instead of routine renewals, US consular offices abruptly cancelled appointments and pushed them back by several months, leaving workers stranded overseas with no clear timeline for return. 

Emails reviewed by the Washington Post included updates from the US State Department explaining that visa interviews had been delayed following the rollout of a new social media vetting policy. The exact number of affected applicants has not been disclosed.

PTI also reported that interviews for several other visa categories are being postponed due to the enhanced scrutiny of applicants’ social media profiles, widening the impact beyond employment-based visas.

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