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H-1B visa update: How mandatory in-person interviews will affect Silicon Valley workers
In a major update on the H-1B and other nonimmigrant visa rules, the US Department of State announced on July 25 that the in-person interview for applicants, which was previously scrapped, has been made mandatory again. Representational.(AFP)
It means that starting September 2, 2025, all nonimmigrant visa holders will have to attend in-person interviews in their home countries to get their visas renewed. One of the sectors in the United States where this procedure change is going to create significant problems is the tech hub in California - the Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley companies have thousands of tech workers who are in the country on H-1B visas. Here's how they will be affected due to the recent rule change
How Silicon Valley Will Be Affected By the H-1B Rule Change
Located in California's Bay Area, Silicon Valley ranks second in the number of H-1B visa permit approvals issued between 2021 and 2024, according to the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).
According to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, around 1% of all workers in the Bay Area held newly approved H-1B visas. In 2024 alone, of the 78,000 workers approved for H-1B visas, more than 39,000 were from Silicon Valley. Of them, the majority were Indians.
H-1B workers will now have to travel back to their country and take part in an in-person interview to get their visas renewed. H-1B visas and are typically issued for three years and are eligible for another three-year renewal.
Audrea Golding, an immigrant law practitioner from San Jose, told NBC News that it would not only mean travel for the employees but also for their family.
Also read: US scraps interview waiver program for H1-B and other visa holders; How it will impact you from September 2
"Now, the requirement will be that the person goes, typically, back to their home country, to apply for that visa," he said. He revealed that those below the age of 14 and above the age of 79 will also have to travel back to their country.
Bill Hing, a professor of Law and Migration Studies at the University of San Francisco, explained to NBC Bay Area that it would result in additional expenses, cause delay, and may disrupt work in the companies.
"This is going to entail a delay in their processing, it can be costly, because [visa holders] may be stuck, for example, in India or China, and they won't be able to get back to work," Hing said.
"It's going to be a problem for the Bay Area, especially because Silicon Valley and other big businesses in San Francisco and the Bay Area rely very heavily on H-1Bs," Hind added.
All major tech companies have a significant number of workers on H-1B visas. Google has approximately 5,367 H-1B employees, with Meta and Apple also employing in similar numbers.
