Many immigrants are concerned about the impacts of changing policies and anti-immigration rhetoric.
Tech professionals around the world are on the edge as President Donald Trump and his administration impose a series of radical immigration measures.
From attempting to deport foreign nationals who are permanent legal residents to barring visitors from entering the country for expressing views on U.S. foreign policy, immigrants have seen a tumultuous couple of months.
Last week, reports said the U.S. government is considering placing travel restrictions on citizens from 43 countries. The plan would completely ban travel from 11 nations, impose heavy curbs on 10 others, and give 22 countries a 60-day ultimatum to address perceived deficiencies or risk moving to one of the other categories.
While workers from the targeted nations make up a relatively small percentage of the tech workforce, industry professionals outside the purview of the measures, too, have been increasingly concerned about being impacted by the shifting visa policies and anti-immigration rhetoric.
They are particularly worried about increased scrutiny of the H-1B visa, which is sought after by tech companies.
Immigration attorneys are now advising clients on temporary U.S. visas to avoid leaving the country, warning they may encounter difficulties when attempting to return.
“There has been a surge in audits and enforcement actions against employers hiring foreign workers, creating job insecurity for legal immigrant employees,” Poorvi Chothani, managing partner at immigration law firm LawQuest, told Rest of World. U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been increasingly visiting employees’ homes to “check if they are legally working from home,” she said in a statement. Chothani’s firm represents hundreds of individual and corporate clients.
Rest of World spoke with tech workers across several countries to record their concerns. Several of them asked to remain anonymous, fearing backlash from the U.S. visa authorities.
