Stranded in India due to visa delays? Amazon allows remote work — but with major limits

Amazon is granting a rare exception to its usual five-day office policy, allowing certain employees stranded in India due to visa delays to work remotely until early March. This decision was communicated through an internal memo dated December 17, which specifies that employees who were in India as of December 13, 2025, and are awaiting new visa appointments can work from home until March 2, 2026. However, this temporary arrangement is accompanied by strict limitations. Employees working remotely from India are prohibited from engaging in any coding activities, which includes troubleshooting, testing, and documentation tasks. Furthermore, they are not permitted to make strategic business decisions, negotiate contracts, or interact with customers. The memo emphasizes that all final decision-making processes must occur outside of India, ensuring compliance with local laws. This policy shift comes at a time when US companies are grappling with visa processing delays that have intensified following modifications to the H-1B visa program during the Trump administration. One significant change requires consular officers to conduct social media reviews of visa applicants, leading to extended processing times as some embassies have postponed appointments for several months. In light of these delays, other major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft have issued travel advisories, urging employees on US work visas to avoid international travel to prevent extended absences from the country. Typically, Amazon allows employees traveling for visa renewals to work remotely for up to 20 business days, but this new memo extends that flexibility to affected employees in India. However, the memo does not clarify the situation for employees whose visa appointments are rescheduled beyond March 2, 2026, or those stuck in countries other than India, with reports indicating that some US embassies have delayed appointments as far out as 2027. For employees in technical roles, these restrictions raise significant concerns regarding their ability to perform essential job functions. One Amazon software engineer noted that a large portion of their work involves coding and related tasks, which are now off-limits. The delays pose a unique challenge for Amazon, a major participant in the H-1B visa program. In the 2024 fiscal year, the company submitted 14,783 certified H-1B applications, highlighting its reliance on this visa category. As of now, Amazon has not provided any comments regarding the new guidelines.