Microsoft has recently appealed to US President Donald Trump and his administration regarding the current immigration ban against certain primarily Muslim countries. The ban has negatively impacted several American tech companies who have employees and family members that are affected by the president's executive order.
The company's President and Chief legal officer have already laid out their request in an open letter. The Verge reports that the Redmond-based tech company's request would allow visa holders from the seven countries affected by Trump's travel ban to travel safely outside the United States without fear or being denied reentry.
Microsoft believes that this would serve as an immediate way to help their foreign employees who are stranded outside the country where they live and work. At present, the company has 76 employees with 41 dependents who are affected by the ban. Many of them are stranded away from their children and unable to visit their sick family members overseas.
Proposed Exemption Guidelines. Microsoft has proposed a set of exemptions for "responsible known travelers with pressing needs." Engadget reports that those who are already detained due to the immigration ban should meet four requirements.
The first requirement is that the detainee would need to be a holder of a valid work or student visa. The detainee should be either sponsored by an American employer that is enrolled in the E-Verify program or hold an F-1 student visa. This also applies to immediate family members of visa holders who possess a derivative non-immigrant visa.
The detainee must also have a clean criminal record. In addition, he or she must have a pressing family-related emergency or be needed for the business of their employer. Furthermore, he or she cannot be out of the country for more than two weeks. Finally, the detainees must not be traveling through any of the seven nations subject to the ban.
While this proposal does not even begin to address the issues created by the immigration restriction, it at least helps some affected individuals and their respective companies. Microsoft is taking the lead for this initiative and other companies such as Google and Uber have already voiced out their concerns as well. Has the travel ban affected you or anyone you know? Comments and thoughts below.
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