Amid the setbacks from the H-1B visa appointment delays, Amazon is now allowing its employees stranded in India to work remotely until March 2.
Generally, Amazon allows 20 days of remote work for employees travelling abroad for visa renewals, an exemption from the usual requirement that they work in the office for five days a week.
However, after the H-1B visa renewal appointment delays, which started during the US holiday season in December, Amazon, the largest user of the H-1B program, released an internal memo stating that employees would be allowed temporary relief by working remotely.
Work remotely, but conditions apply
Nevertheless, this move came with a few conditions.
Saying that “there are no exceptions to these restrictions,” the memo, accessed by Business Insider, outlined the requirements of adhering to the company’s operating guidance.
One of the major restrictions for employees working remotely from India was being barred from coding, which also included testing or troubleshooting. They also cannot work from or visit an Amazon building. Additionally, employees were instructed not to sign or negotiate any contracts.
“Do not undertake any strategic business decisions, business planning, product management/development, and/or business development type activities,” the memo read.
“All reviews, final decision making, and sign-offs should be undertaken outside India,” it added.
The memo, however, does not provide information or support to employees whose appointments were rescheduled until after March 2, or for those who are stranded in different countries. Reportedly, US embassies and consulates rescheduled some appointments as far as 2027.
Meanwhile, employees who primarily work in coding are stuck in a limbo, questioning what work they can actually do while stuck in India.
The changing H-1B selection process
Thousands of Indian H-1B holders were left stranded in India after US consulates abruptly cancelled or postponed their renewal appointments. The disruptions followed after the rollout of the expanded social media vetting policy by the Trump administration.
“It is an effort to address abuse of the H-1B program while still permitting companies to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers,” the embassy had said during the announcement of the vetting policy.
However, the move affected major US companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, who remain large users of the H-1B program.
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