Can H-1B visa holders work remotely abroad? New case sparks worry

A viral case of visa cancellation at Abu Dhabi preclearance has raised fresh doubts for H-1B professionals working remotely while outside the US

Can you work remotely during vacation if you have an H-1B visa? A recent case shows that rules may be tightening around that.

 

A Reddit user reported that her H-1B visa was stamped “cancelled and withdrawn” at Abu Dhabi preclearance when she was returning to the US in January, along with her husband. She was asked how long she had remained in India and whether she had continued working while there. She said she stayed for two months and described it as partly vacation and partly work. She was later directed to secondary inspection and required to prove that working from India was authorised under her Labour Condition Application, which did not include such a provision.

   

The woman said she was told that she had “overstayed” in India and that receiving payment while working from India for a US company was against US law.

 

“They cancelled my visa and stamped ‘Cancelled and Withdrawn’ on my passport. I was told that I would need to go for visa stamping again. However, there are currently no visa appointment slots available,” the woman wrote.

 

“My company’s immigration attorney says there is no such rule that prohibits working remotely from India while employed by a US company, and has advised me to go for stamping again. But with no available slots, I’m extremely stressed and unsure what to do next,” the woman added.

 

She explained that she had travelled to India in November for her daughter’s first birthday and did not face any H-1B stamping delays because their appointments were scheduled before December 15, 2025, before the visa disruption began.   

 

According to the Redditor, she and her husband completed their visa stamping on December 12, before the mass rescheduling of appointments started. They were scheduled to fly to the US in January, but when they reached Abu Dhabi preclearance, her case was flagged for review. However, her husband was cleared and allowed to proceed without any trouble.

 

The woman shared the questions she was asked during preclearance and explained why she was not allowed to travel further to the US.

 

Why H-1B workers are worried

 

Hundreds of H-1B workers were left stranded in India after the State Department began social media vetting in December 2025, leading to large-scale rescheduling of visa appointments. Many applicants with December appointments were pushed to April or May 2026.

 

Following the disruption, visa appointment availability collapsed, leaving no stamping dates open for 2026 at consular offices.

 

Although some companies permitted stranded Indian H-1B workers to operate remotely from India, the legal standing of such arrangements continues to remain uncertain for both firms and employees.

 

Hany Girgis, Co-Owner and Chairman of Skillstorm (Ed-Tech), commented on the case on X, saying, “You cannot be paid by a US company and perform work outside the listed worksite. The entire programme is built on ‘specific job, specific employer, specific location.’”

 

He added, “The rules for the H-1B programme are well-documented. You get an LCA for your job position that specifies a geographic location to perform work. A change of work location requires an amendment or recertification. Also, for H-1B, you’re not supposed to work more than a couple days while abroad. Every immigration lawyer warns about all the restrictions.”

 

The post quickly went viral, with many users expressing concern and frustration.

 

One X user said, “You are right. But that is a sad way to exist, being unable to travel outside the US. What next? Being scared to travel across state lines?”

 

Another wrote, “You should never admit working in a country you haven’t been authorised to work in if you work in the US. That’s an understanding between you and your manager.”