An icon, the pixelated head of a tyrannosaurus rex Alex Leighton

Amazon H-1B Memo

H-1B workers face impossible choices.
2025-09-20 at 19:5
amazonpoliticssoftware-eng

Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas.

Leaked Amazon Memo on 2025-09-19:

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.

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 H-1B 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.

Callous cruelty. I've worked with tons of folks who were in the country, working under H-1B visas. It is already hard enough to get one, and for all of the folks I worked with, it's a lot of work to leave your life behind, travel across the Pacific ocean, and start a new life in a foreign country. They are at the mercy of whichever megacorp sponsored them — if they get fired they are forced to leave their life behind and leave the country.

H-1B visas are structured entirely to the United States' benefit already, talent is drained from other countries, companies make more from their work product than it costs to get the visa or pay them, and the people involved are kept in a state of precarity. Adding an insanely high cost to the visa serves no good purpose, it's needlessly cruel to people who are already going above and beyond to be here. I hope the major tech companies can fight this legally.

Updated 2025-09-21 at 3:0: Of course, after causing immense panic either through stupidity or malice, public offices [1] [2] are forced to clarify the intended policy only applies to new H1-B applications.