Google has advised some employees on visas not to travel outside the US due to delays at embassies, Business Insider has learned.
The company’s outside counsel BAL Immigration Law sent an email on Thursday advising staff who require a visa stamp to re-enter the US not to leave the country because visa processing was taking longer than usual, according to a copy of the memo reviewed by Business Insider.
“Please be aware that some US Embassies and Consulates are experiencing significant visa stamping appointment delays, currently reported as up to 12 months,” the memo read. It was recommended that employees avoid international travel as they would “risk an extended stay outside the US.”
American consulates and embassies around the world are seeing delays with routine visa appointments following the introduction of a new social media screening requirement, which applies to H-1B visa workers and their dependents, as well as students and exchange visitors.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the Department of State told Business Insider it was conducting “online presence reviews for applicants.” The department said it may move appointments as resources change, with applicants able to request expedited slots on a case-by-case basis.
“While in the past the emphasis may have been on processing cases quickly and reducing wait times, our embassies and consulates around the world, including in India, are now prioritizing thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else,” the State Department spokesperson said. Appointments in Ireland and Vietnam have also been postponed, according to immigration firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC.
Google’s lawyers said in the memo that the delays were affecting H-1B, H-4, F, J, and M visas. The advisory did not specify what anyone on a visa already outside the country with a postponed appointment should do.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment.
How enhanced visa vetting can complicate a routine trip abroad
Google’s warning echoes a wave of internal travel advisories that swept through corporate America in September, as the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas.
The H-1B visa typically lasts up to three years and can often be extended. If someone needs a new H-1B visa stamp, they typically must apply at a US embassy or consulate in their home country or a country where they have lawful residence.
As a general matter, said immigration attorney Jason Finkelman, who focuses on employment and family immigration, foreign nationals should be able to return to the US after travel abroad if they have a valid visa stamp and aren’t subject to any entry restrictions, including the Trump administration’s expanded travel ban, which the White House says takes effect January 1.
That’s where enhanced vetting can complicate an otherwise routine trip. If an H-1B worker leaves the US to get a new visa stamp and their consular appointment is canceled or delayed — sometimes by months — they can be stuck abroad until the visa is issued.
“My advice to clients is that if travel isn’t essential right now, better to stay put,” Finkelman said.
A spokesperson for the Department of State said consular officers “do not issue a visa unless the applicant can credibly demonstrate they meet all requirements under US law — including that they intend to engage only in activities consistent with the terms of their visa.”
The H-1B program, which is capped at 85,000 new visas a year, serves as a core pipeline for employers hiring skilled foreign workers. Tech giants have long been among the largest users of the visa, with companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta topping the lists of approved new H-1B petitions in recent years. 
Under the Trump administration, the program has become a political flash point, with the White House framing H-1Bs as a threat to American jobs and rolling out measures that critics and employers say make it harder and more expensive to hire new workers.
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