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President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Friday that will add a $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications, leading some major tech companies to warn visa holders to remain in the US or get back by Sunday’s deadline.
Business Insider has reviewed memos sent to staff at Amazon and Microsoft about the changes. Read them here.
Amazon
H-1B Executive Order, Sep 19, 2025
Amazonians,
We’ve reviewed the Presidential Proclamation on H-1B visas that was released today and are actively working to gain greater clarity. Here’s what you need to know right now: The proclamation creates a travel restriction starting September 21, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. EDT (9:01 p.m. PDT tomorrow). After this deadline, individuals cannot enter the U.S. on H-1B status without an additional $100,000 payment associated with their petition. Recommended actions for you to take:
If you have H-1B status and are in the U.S.: Stay in the country for now, even if you have travel planned for the immediate future. We will continue to provide updates as more details are available.
If you have H-4 dependent status: We also recommend you remain in the U.S., though the proclamation doesn’t specifically mention H-4 dependents.
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If you have H-1B or H-4 status and are outside the U.S.: Try to return before tomorrow’s deadline if possible. We realize this is short notice but returning soon is advisable and you should make every effort possible to clear U.S. customs before 12:00 a.m. EDT (9:00 p.m. PDT) on Sunday, September 21, 2025.
At this time, if you have an H1-B or H-4 status and are unable to return before the deadline, we advise that you do not attempt to enter the U.S. until further guidance is provided.
Microsoft
IMPORTANT ADVISORY: New travel restriction for H-1B visa holders
(Updated at 6:04 pm pacific with the intake form for those outside of the U.S.)
Hi all–We have now reviewed the actual text of today’s Presidential Proclamation on H-1B visas, which you can find here: Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers — The White House.
Here’s what you need to know:
First, the proclamation is structured as a travel restriction. Beginning at 12:01 am eastern time on September 21, 2025 (so, 9:01 pm Pacific time tomorrow), individuals will not be able to enter/return to the U.S. in H-1B status unless their petition has an additional $100,000 payment associated with it.
What you need to do:
If you are in H-1B status and are in the U.S., you should remain in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. We know this may interrupt your travel plans. But the critical thing is to stay in the U.S. in order to avoid being denied reentry.
While the proclamation doesn’t reference H-4 dependents, we also recommend that H-4s remain in the U.S.
If you are in H-1B or H-4 status and are currently outside the U.S., we strongly recommend that you do what you can to return to the U.S. tomorrow before the deadline. The Proclamation was released within the last 30 minutes, so we realize that there isn’t much time to make sudden travel arrangements. But again, we strongly encourage you to do your best to return. If you are not able to return, please use this form to let us know about your situation. Please only complete that form if you are outside of the U.S. We want to be able to follow up with each individual and provide support and guidance as they try to return within the next 28 hours.
We will also be reaching out to everyone by email later today to make sure everyone is aware.
The proclamation does not impact any other visa statuses. (Note, we have started receiving emails from people in other statuses like L-1 and TN asking about impacts. I’ll reiterate that this does not impact people in other statuses. If you refrain from sending in questions asking about that, it will help us divert our resources to help those who are impacted. Thanks!)
There is other content in the proclamation about the pause in processing H-1B petitions for individuals who are outside the U.S. At this time, we do not interpret this to immediately impact extensions of H-1B status or changes of status to H-1B as long as you are currently in the U.S. We’ll share more about that later.
I know these developments are creating anxiety and uncertainty for many of you. While we don’t have all of the answers right now, we ask that you prioritize the recommendations above.
Microsoft declined to comment. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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