Washington: Making a departure from its strict return-to-office rule, Amazon has allowed certain H1B visa holders stranded in India to work remotely until March 2. The temporary arrangement, outlined in an internal memo, responds to widespread delays in US visa processing that have left employees unable to return to the United States.

Under Amazon’s normal policy, staff travelling abroad for visa renewals can work remotely for up to 20 business days. The new authorisation extends this period by several months, but only for employees who were physically in India as of December 13, 2025 and are awaiting rescheduled H1B or H4 visa slots. Despite the extension, Amazon has imposed significant restrictions on the work these employees can undertake while in India. According to the internal memo and reports, affected staff:

• Cannot code, troubleshoot, test or document software, effectively sidelining core tech duties.

• May not interact with customers, partners or vendors, including pricing or contract discussions.

• Are barred from making strategic decisions, team management or final approvals.

The memo states that “all reviews, final decision making, and signoffs should be undertaken outside India,” emphasising that these restrictions are designed to comply with local laws and internal compliance requirements. The move comes against the backdrop of extended H-1B visa appointment backlogs, which have been exacerbated by new US immigration policies requiring expanded social media reviews for visa applicants.

These additional procedures have lengthened processing times at many embassies and consulates, leaving some applicants waiting for months or even into late 2026 or beyond. Amazon is among the largest corporate users of the H1B programme, having filed nearly 14,800 H-1B applications in 2024, making it particularly vulnerable to these disruptions.

The current policy provides limited relief, but it offers no guaranteed solution for employees whose visa appointments are delayed past the March deadline.

Many tech workers, whose roles typically centre on coding and development, face uncertainty as they cannot perform most of their regular duties under the remote-work arrangement.