Amazon has said that employee stranded in India due to H-1B visa delays can work remotely until March — but with certain restrictions. This is a rare exception to Microsoft’s five-days-in-office rule.
The change was announced after thousands of H-1B visa holders who came to India for visa stamping got stuck in the country as their physical interviews were rescheduled.
Amazon allows remote work for visa holders
According to a Business Insider article, Amazon informed employees in an internal memo that visa-holders stuck in India can work remotely till early March.
Under the memo posted on Amazon’s internal HR portal on December 17, employees who were in India as of December 13 and are waiting for a rescheduled visa appointment can continue working remotely until March 2, 2026.
However, they have a number of restrictions on what they can’t do. More specifically, Amazon employees working remotely in India are not allowed to code, make strategic decisions, or interact with customers.
The ban on coding includes troubleshooting and testing. Employees are also barred from visiting or working from any Amazon buildings in India.
“All reviews, final decision making, and sign offs should be undertaken outside India,” the memo says.
The memo does mention what Amazon H-1B employees should do if they are stranded in countries other than India. Neither does it have guidance for employees whose visa appointments are rescheduled to after March 2, 2026.
The H-1B chaos
Amazon is among several US companies rushing to adjust to the Trump administration’s swift changes to the H-1B visa programme, including a requirement that consular officials review applicants’ social media activity before approving visas.
Earlier, companies like Google and Microsoft had shared advisories warning certain visa-holding employees to avoid international travel.