loading . . . Foreign tech workers are avoiding travel to the US I go to a lot of tech conferences — 13 in 2025 — and many of those I attend are outside the US; several are in London, one is in Amsterdam, another in Paris, and two in Tokyo.
Wherever I went this past year, when we weren’t talking about AI, Linux, the cloud, or open-source software, the top non-tech topic for non-Americans involved the sweeping changes that have occurred since President Donald J. Trump returned to office last January. The conversations generally ended with something like this: “I’m not taking a job or going to a conference in the United States.”
Honestly, who can blame them?
Under Trump, America now has large “Keep Out!” and “No Trespassing!” signs effectively posted. I’ve known several top tech people who tried to come to the US for technology shows with proper visas and paperwork, but were still turned away at the border. Who wants to fly for 8+ hours for a conference, only to be refused entry at the last minute, and be forced to fly back?
I know many of the leading trade show organizers, and it’s not just me who’s seeing this. They universally agree that getting people from outside the States to agree to come to the US is increasingly difficult. Many refuse even to try to come. As a result, show managers have begun to close US-based events and are seeking to replace them with shows in Europe, Canada, and Asia.
Organizers of scientific meetings here are also reporting falling attendance from abroad. Why? _PhysicsToday_ reports that scientists cite “visa woes and worries about being hassled, detained, or denied entry at the US border” as key reasons international researchers now skip American events.
Foreign scholars are explicitly opting out of US conferences either out of protest or caution. They’re saying they fear not only delays and denials but also potential encounters with immigration enforcement while traveling.
It’s not just the scientists and enterprise IT people I usually hang out with — it’s also happening on the consumer tech side of things. Chinese tech workers invited to CES in Las Vegas, which is only days away, report unusually high rates of US visa denials. Some advisers in China now warn that mentioning CES in an application can sharply increase the odds of rejection.
CES organizers have acknowledged the issue and publicly urged Washington leaders to expedite business‑travel visa approvals. They’re calling the denials a setback for global industry exchange. Need I mention that their appeals are falling on deaf ears?
It’s not just foreign trade show attendees and speakers who are steering clear.
Foreign technologists and researchers are increasingly avoiding the US. They’re skipping both long‑term work opportunities as visas get harder to obtain and the political climate grows more hostile to international talent.
The Trump administration’s new “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” demands that employers pay an annual fee of $100,000 per H‑1B application, which is a de facto deterrent to hiring foreign tech workers. Even the largest companies will be hesitant to hire talent given this fee. And as for smaller businesses? Forget about it!
Even foreign workers already in the US are having second thoughts about living in a country that’s officially hostile to anyone who’s not of European descent. A recent report from Specialist Staffing Group found that 32% of US-based STEM pros said they were open to relocation. That’s bad news for US companies, which are already seeing projects delayed or disrupted.
Major tech firms, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, have reportedly urged overseas staff to return to the US quickly while simultaneously warning them to limit dependents’ travel. At the same time, all these top tech companies, and many more, have been laying people off. Even if you can trace your ancestry back to the Mayflower, we’re living in a time of tech job insecurity.
While the US raises barriers, rival tech hubs are pitching themselves as open and predictable. Canada, Europe, and parts of Asia are marketing fast‑track visas and remote‑work‑friendly policies aimed squarely at the engineers, founders, and researchers who now view the US as too much trouble for too little certainty.
Once upon a time, everyone who was anyone in tech was willing to uproot their lives to come to the US. Here, they could make a good living. They could collaborate, publish, and build companies in jurisdictions that welcome them, and meet their peers at conferences. Now, they must run a gauntlet at the US border and neither a green card nor US citizenship guarantees they won’t be abused by the federal government.
Trump’s America seems bound and determined to become a second-rate tech power. His administration can loosen all the restrictions it wants on AI, but without top global talent, US tech prowess will decline. That’s not good for America, the tech industry or the larger world. https://www.computerworld.com/article/4110681/foreign-tech-workers-are-avoiding-travel-to-the-us.html
