Google Advises Staff to Curb International Travel as Visa Backlog Deepens

Google has advised employees to postpone international travel as worsening U.S. visa processing delays create significant legal risks. The tech giant warned that staff traveling abroad may face "unpredictable" wait times at consulates, potentially leaving them stranded outside the country for months. This internal caution highlights growing corporate anxiety over a backlogged immigration system, which now threatens to disrupt business operations and separate international workers from their roles and families in the United States.

Search giant Google is sounding the alarm for its international workforce, advising employees to scrap overseas travel plans as U.S. visa processing times spiral out of control.

Internal communications obtained by Business Insider reveal that Google’s legal counsel, BAL Immigration Law, has warned staff that re-entry processing at U.S. embassies and consulates is currently facing "significant" delays. In some regions, wait times for visa stamping appointments have ballooned to as long as 12 months, leaving foreign nationals at risk of being stranded outside the country for a year or more.

A Perfect Storm of Vetting and Backlogs

The gridlock stems largely from a new layer of bureaucracy: enhanced social-media screening. U.S. diplomatic missions have begun conducting "online presence reviews" for a wide swathe of applicants, including high-skilled H-1B workers, their families, and international students on F, J, and M visas.

The State Department confirmed the heightened scrutiny, noting that while expedited processing is available on a case-by-case basis, the primary focus remains on "stopping abuses of the system."

High Stakes for Tech Giants

The timing of these delays adds fresh tension to the ongoing battle over American immigration policy. The White House has defended recent changes including a significant $100,000 application fee as a necessary deterrent against fraud. However, the business community is pushing back. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is among several organizations currently challenging the administration’s H-1B policies in court.

The crisis hits Indian nationals particularly hard; they received over 70% of approved H-1B visas in 2024. The reliance on this talent pool was recently echoed by tech mogul Elon Musk, who defended the program, stating the U.S. economy has "benefited immensely" from high-skilled Indian immigrants while simultaneously calling for an end to the misuse of the system by outsourcing firms.

For now, Google’s message to its H-1B talent is clear: stay put, or risk a long, unplanned exile from your job and life in America.

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Source: NDTV