H-1B Visa Delays: Amazon Lets Affected Staff Work From India Until March, But With Strict Restrictions

Amazon is granting rare remote work flexibility to H-1B visa holders stranded in India due to US visa processing backlogs. Departing from its usual five-day office policy, Amazon is now allowing certain employees stranded in India to work remotely until March 2, 2026. This applies to staff who were in India as of December 13, 2025, and are still waiting for US visa appointments, Business Insider reported. 

However, the remote work comes with strict limitations. 

• Ban on Coding: Impacted technical staff are strictly prohibited from coding, which includes troubleshooting, testing, or documentation.
• No Customer or Third-Party Interaction: Employees cannot render services to any customer or manage relationships with partners or vendors, including discussions on pricing or contract terms.
• No Decision-Making Authority: Workers are barred from making strategic business decisions, business planning, product management, or hiring decisions.
• Restricted Physical Access: Employees are not allowed to visit or work from any Amazon buildings or sites in India. All work must be conducted from a residential or non-Amazon location. "All reviews, final decision making, and sign-offs should be undertaken outside India," the memo says.

Amazon is among several US companies adjusting to the Trump administration's swift changes to the H-1B visa program. New rules require consular officers to review applicants' social media posts before issuing visas, causing processing delays. Embassies and consulates have rescheduled appointments, leaving employees stranded abroad.

The memo doesn't address employees with visa appointments rescheduled beyond March 2, 2026, or those stranded in other countries. Some US embassies have pushed appointments to 2027, adding to the uncertainty. For tech employees, it's unclear what work they can do under these restrictions. "Seventy to eighty percent of my job is coding, testing, deploying, and documenting," one Amazon software engineer told Business Insider.

Amazon isn't the only tech giant dealing with H-1B visa delays, but it's one of the hardest hit. Google, Apple, and Microsoft have warned visa-holding employees to avoid international travel due to consular backlogs.

Notably, Amazon is one of the largest corporate users of the H-1B program. The company filed over 14,783 H-1B applications in the 2024 fiscal year, showing its reliance on foreign talent. The temporary work-from-India policy offers some relief but leaves many employees uncertain about their future, with some facing visa delays stretching into 2027.