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FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status

The following information addresses common questions by individuals in H-1B nonimmigrant status, particularly related to applying for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, job changes or terminations, international travel, and dependent family members.

For example, did you know:

• An eligible H-1B worker can change employers as soon as the new employer’s nonfrivolous H-1B petition is properly filed with USCIS.
• We will not revoke a Form I-140 petition approval solely due to the termination of the petitioner’s business or the employer’s withdrawal, as long as the petition has been approved for at least 180 days or the associated adjustment of status application has been pending for at least 180 days, and the petition approval is not revoked on other grounds. In this scenario, the H-1B worker will retain their priority date.
• When an H-1B worker’s employment is terminated (either voluntarily or involuntarily), they typically may take one of several actions to remain in a period of authorized stay in the United States beyond 60 days.

The chart below summarizes some common scenarios for H-1B workers. The information in this chart is general and does not capture all relevant details or considerations. Please review the FAQs further below and accompanying links for more specific information.

Q. I am currently in the United States in another nonimmigrant status. Do I have to depart the United States to obtain H-1B nonimmigrant status?

A. Nonimmigrants in the United States who wish to obtain a different nonimmigrant status generally either apply for a change of status with USCIS or, after USCIS approves their benefit request, consular process by applying for a visa in the new classification at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad and then requesting admission to the United States in the new classification.

In general, you may change to H-1B nonimmigrant status without departing the United States. An employer who files an H-1B petition on your behalf can request a change of status on the  Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker . To be eligible to change your status, you must have been lawfully admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant, your nonimmigrant status must remain valid, you must not have violated the conditions of your status, and you must not have committed any act that would make you ineligible to receive a nonimmigrant benefit. Also, certain nonimmigrant categories are ineligible for a change of status (see  Change My Nonimmigrant Status  for a list).

If you need to depart the United States – for example, if your current nonimmigrant status expires before your employer is able to file Form I-129 requesting a change of status to H-1B classification – you would generally need to apply for and obtain an H-1B visa stamp from a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad and present yourself at a port of entry for admission in H-1B status with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after the approval of the H-1B petition filed on your behalf. See Requirements to Timely File a Request to Extend Stay or Change Status in the  USCIS Policy Manual .

Q. How long may I remain in the United States in H-1B status?

A. The maximum period of admission for H-1B workers is generally 6 years. However, as detailed below, there are some common exceptions to this limit.

Q. When and how long can I extend my H-1B status beyond 6 years?

A. Your employer may submit  Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker , on your behalf, requesting an H-1B extension beyond 6 years in certain scenarios. For example, your employer may request to extend your H-1B status beyond 6 years if at least 365 days have passed since a  permanent labor certification was filed on your behalf with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or since an immigrant visa petition (typically Form I-140), enabling you to apply for lawful permanent residence once a visa is available, was filed on your behalf with USCIS under one of the  employment-based immigrant visa categories . We may grant extensions on this basis in up to 1-year increments.

More commonly, your employer may also request to extend H-1B status beyond 6 years if you are the beneficiary of an approved   Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers , in the  first, second, or third preference category and are eligible to be granted lawful permanent resident status, except for the fact that an immigrant visa is not available, as reflected in the  U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin . Your petitioning employer must demonstrate that the visa is not available as of the date the H-1B extension petition is filed with USCIS, a s determined by your Form I-140 priority date and the relevant visa bulletin chart from the time of filing the H-1B extension request. See the  USCIS Policy Manual for additional information on visa availability. We may grant extensions on this basis in up to 3-year increments.

Additional information about extending H-1B status beyond 6 years, including specific requirements and points at which you are no longer eligible for such extensions, is available on our  H-1B Specialty Occupations page under “Period of Stay.”

Q. Must I presently hold H-1B status to request H-1B status beyond 6 years?

A. You do not have to hold H-1B status at the time you request H-1B status beyond the sixth year. Regulations authorizing H-1B status beyond 6 years apply to individuals who are currently in or previously held H-1B status.

For example, imagine you previously held H-1B status for 6 years but had no basis to timely extend beyond 6 years before your 6 years in H-1B status were reached. You then changed to O-1 status. While in O-1 status, a Form I-140 petition in the first, second, or third preference category was approved on your behalf, but an immigrant visa is not available in the category under which you are adjusting status based on your priority date. Your employer may then file a petition requesting a 3-year period of H-1B status on your behalf. This petition could either request a change of status to H-1B while still in the United States, assuming you are otherwise eligible for a change of status, or consular notification. H-1B petitions approved by USCIS for consular processing are forwarded to the Department of State for review. After review, a U.S. Consulate or Embassy may issue a visa for travel to a United States’ port of entry.

Q. Does my time outside of the United States count towards my 6-year maximum in H-1B status?

A. Only time spent in the United States as an H-1B beneficiary counts towards the 6-year maximum. Time spent outside the United States exceeding 24 hours, commonly referred to as “recapture time” or “remainder time,” does not count towards your 6-year limit, and you are eligible to recapture those periods of time. The burden is on your petitioning employer to request and establish eligibility for recapture time. Documentation of time outside of the United States may include passport stamps, Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Records and travel history from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, airline tickets, and boarding passes, along with an accompanying chart indicating dates outside of the United States. Your petitioning employer may include such documentation to establish your eligibility for recapturing time when they submit an H-1B petition on your behalf.

Q. I only work in H-1B status for short periods of time throughout the year. Does the 6-year maximum duration still apply to me?

There is not a limitation of stay if your employment in the United States is seasonal or intermittent or for a total of 6 months or less per year, or if you do not reside continually in the United States. Your petitioning employer must provide clear and convincing proof that you qualify for such an exception of the 6-year maximum duration. This proof must consist of evidence such as arrival and departure records, copies of tax returns, and records of employment abroad.

Q. When can I begin a new 6-year period of H-1B status?

A. You may be eligible to begin a new period of 6 years in H-1B status if you have been outside of the United States for 1 continuous year, with the exception of brief trips to the United States for business or pleasure.  If you start a new 6-year period of H-1B status you are subject to  H-1B cap limitations  if your employment is cap-subject.

Q. My H-1B status is about to expire. Do I have to leave the United States to extend my H-1B status?

A. In general, you do not have to leave the United States to extend your H-1B status. Your employer can submit an H-1B petition with a request to extend your H-1B status. To be eligible to extend your status, you must have been lawfully admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant, your nonimmigrant status must remain valid, you must not have violated the conditions of your status, and you must not have committed any act that would make you ineligible to receive a nonimmigrant benefit. See  How Do I Extend My Nonimmigrant Stay in the United States (PDF, 121.18 KB) ?

If the H-1B petition requesting an extension of status on your behalf is filed after the end of your H-1B status period – in other words, if it was not “timely filed” -- then we, in our discretion and under certain conditions, may excuse the failure to timely file if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control. If we approve the late-filed petition to extend status, the approval is effective as of the date of the expiration of your prior H-1B admission period. See the  USCIS Policy Manual .

If we deny the extension of status request, whether it was filed on time or not, you will be considered to have been out of valid status as of the expiration date of your H-1B status that you sought to extend (in other words, your I-94 expiration date). Please see the  USCIS Policy Manual  for more information.

Q. My H-1B status is about to expire but a petition requesting an H-1B extension on my behalf is pending at USCIS. What is my status once my H-1B expires? May I continue to work while the extension request is pending?

If your H-1B expires and a timely-filed non-frivolous H-1B extension request is pending on your behalf, you are in a period of authorized stay – even after your H-1B status expires. Note, however, that an authorized period of stay is not the same as a status. If the petition is seeking extension of the same employment for the same employer, you are authorized to continue employment for a period not to exceed 240 days from the date your H-1B status expired. If we deny the extension request before the 240-day period expires, your employment authorization will automatically terminate when USCIS notifies your petitioning employer of the denial. If the petition is requesting a change in employment or change in employer under H-1B portability, you are authorized to work in the new employment for the entire time the petition is pending at USCIS. If we deny the request, your employment authorization based on portability will automatically terminate when USCIS notifies your petitioning employer of the denial. See “Changing Employers or Employment Terms with the Same Employer (Portability)” in our  H-1B Specialty Occupation webpage.

Q. What happens if my H-1B status expires while I have a pending application to change to another nonimmigrant status?

A. A pending application to change status ( Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker , or  Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status ) does not provide lawful immigration status. However, you may be in an authorized period of stay during the period when a timely filed nonfrivolous application to change status is pending with USCIS. If we approve your timely-filed application to change status, the start date for your new nonimmigrant status is effective on the date of approval. If there is a gap of time between the expiration date of your H-1B status and the start date of your new status, we consider you to have continued to maintain a lawful status as long as you timely filed the change of status (COS) application, we granted the request to change status, and you did not violate any terms and conditions of your H-1B status.

If your request to change status was not filed on time – in other words, if it was not filed before the end of your H-1B status -- then we, in our discretion and under certain conditions, may excuse the failure to timely file if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control. If we approve the late filed change of status application, the change of status takes effect on the approval date. In this scenario, we will consider you to have maintained lawful status during the excused period. See the  USCIS Policy Manual .

If we deny the application to change status, whether it was filed on time or not, you will be considered to have been out of valid status as of the expiration date of your H-1B status (your I-94 expiration date).

Q. What happens if my H-1B status expires and I have an approved compelling circumstances Employment Authorization Document (EAD)?

A. If your H-1B status expires and you have a compelling circumstances EAD, you will be in a period of authorized stay, but you will no longer be maintaining a nonimmigrant status. You generally will not accrue unlawful presence in the United States while the EAD is valid or, if you filed a non-frivolous application for the EAD before the expiration of your H-1B status, while your application was pending.

If you are working in the United States under a compelling circumstances EAD and a nonimmigrant or immigrant petition is filed on your behalf, you would not be eligible to change status, extend status, or adjust status to lawful permanent resident from within the United States. After the petition is approved, you would need to apply for a visa and/or admission from outside the United States to begin working in accordance with that petition.

See additional information at  Employment Authorization in Compelling Circumstances .

Q. I have a controlling interest in a company. Can this company qualify as my petitioning employer to sponsor my H-1B status?

A. A company in which you have a controlling interest – meaning, you own more than 50% or have majority rights – may qualify as your employer and may petition for H-1B status on your behalf. In this scenario you would be both an owner of the petitioning employer and a beneficiary of the petition (a “beneficiary owner”).

Previously, more restrictive requirements on employer-employee relationships between H-1B petitioners and beneficiaries may have resulted in H-1B beneficiary owners being ineligible. However, in 2020 we rescinded the 2010 policy memorandum, “Determining Employer-Employee Relationship for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions, Including Third-Party Site Placements,” which impacted such eligibility. See the  USCIS Policy Memorandum (PDF, 379.71 KB) .

The Oct. 23, 2023, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers,  proposed to codify the ability of beneficiary owners to obtain H-1B status. We continue to consider comments in response to this NPRM. However, beneficiary owners may already be eligible for H-1B status under existing regulations and policies. You must still be coming temporarily to the United States to perform services in a specialty occupation. Additionally, Department of Labor requirements related to labor condition applications, including requirements concerning the appropriate prevailing wage and wage level, still apply.

The United States remains a destination for top talent around the world. Our ability to attract and retain entrepreneurs is essential for spurring innovation, job creation, and new industries and opportunities for all Americans. We encourage entrepreneurs to use the H-1B program, or other appropriate pathways, to live and work in the United States. See  Options for Noncitizen Entrepreneurs to Work in the United States .

Q. I hold H-1B status and have a pending adjustment of status application. If my H-1B expires, will my adjustment of status application be denied?

A. A pending adjustment of status application does not provide lawful status or cure any violation of nonimmigrant visa status. If you file Form I-485 while you are in H-1B status, however, the expiration of that H-1B status while the Form I-485 is pending generally will not make you ineligible for adjustment of status, as long as you do not engage in unauthorized employment or otherwise become inadmissible. See the  USCIS Policy Manual .

Q. I hold H-1B status and have a pending adjustment of status application. If my H-1B expires, may I continue to work and travel?

A. A pending  Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status , does not automatically confer employment authorization and does not serve as a basis for readmission to the United States. However, you may submit applications for employment authorization and advance parole with your Form I-485. If you file  Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization , based on your pending Form I-485, and receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), you may use this EAD to work. EADs based on a pending adjustment of status application are unrestricted as to employment type and location. If you file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document , and receive an Advance Parole Document based on your pending Form I-485, you may present your valid Advance Parole Document at a port of entry for reentry to the United States.

The validity period for your EAD will generally be  5 years . If you file both Form I-131 and Form I-765 and USCIS approves both applications, we will generally issue one document which serves as both your EAD and Advance Parole Document (known as a combination card, or combo card). The combo card will be an EAD with the notation “SERVES AS I-512 ADVANCE PAROLE.” (See  Information About Your Immigration Document .) If you do not file the Form I-131 and I-765 together, and/or if we cannot adjudicate both applications together, you will receive separate employment authorization and Advance Parole Documents. In this case, your EAD will indicate “NOT VALID FOR REENTRY TO U.S.” and your Advance Parole Document will be issued separately.

Q. I am an international student on an F-1 visa, currently in a period of optional practical training (OPT). Do I need to obtain H-1B status for my employer to file an immigrant petition on my behalf?

A. As an F-1 student on OPT, you do not have to obtain H-1B status before an immigrant petition is filed on your behalf. In general, nonimmigrants are admitted for a specific temporary period of time and, at the time of admission or extension of stay, must intend to depart the United States at the expiration of their authorized period of admission or extension of stay. See the  USCIS Policy Manual . To be eligible for F-1 classification, a student must intend to depart the United States after their temporary period of stay and have a foreign residence they do not intend to abandon. However, as a student you may be the beneficiary of a pending or approved immigrant petition and still be able to demonstrate an intent to depart. See the  USCIS Policy Manual .

Q. I have an approved immigrant petition and am waiting for a visa number to be available. Why is there such a long wait for a visa number to be available to me?

A. Availability of immigrant visas is subject to statutory limits, and demand for these visas is generally much higher than the limits can accommodate. Statutory constraints on immigrant visa numbers can only be changed by Congress. See  Employment-Based Adjustment of Status FAQs  for additional information.

Q. I have now become a lawful permanent resident. Do any employment restrictions apply to me? What guidance is available?

A. As a lawful permanent resident you are authorized to work for any employer. You may use your Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) for readmission to the United States after travel abroad, though if you are outside of the country for a long duration – generally 1 year or more – you may need to apply for a reentry permit. Note that, depending on the length and circumstances of the trip abroad, the trip may lead to a determination that you have abandoned your lawful permanent resident status. (See the  USCIS Policy Manual ). Additional conditions and requirements apply to those granted conditional permanent resident status, usually granted to those who applied for lawful permanent residence based on marriage or investment. See  After We Grant Your Green Card for more detailed information and resources. 

Q. What is “porting”?

A. There are two kinds of job portability, or “porting,” available based on two different kinds of employer petitions:

H-1B petition portability : Eligible H-1B nonimmigrants may begin working for a new employer as soon as the employer properly files a new H-1B petition (Form I-129) requesting to amend or extend H-1B status with USCIS, without waiting for the petition to be approved. More information about H-1B portability can be found on our  H-1B Specialty Occupations  page.

Immigrant worker petition portability : A worker with an adjustment of status application (Form I-485) that has been pending for at least 180 days with an underlying valid immigrant visa petition (Form I-140) can transfer the underlying immigrant visa petition to a qualifying new offer of employment in the same or similar occupational classification with the same or a new employer. For example, if you move from a software developer position to an information systems manager position, this may be considered a same or similar occupation. More information about this kind of porting (sometimes known as “ INA 204(j)  portability”) can be found in the  USCIS Policy Manual .

If you seek to port to a new offer of employment under INA 204(j), you must submit  Form I-485 Supplement J, Confirmation of Bona Fide Job Offer or Request for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j) , to document your new job offer and transfer your Form I-140 to the new job offer.

If the Form I-140 is in an employment-based immigrant visa category which does not require a job offer – namely, individuals seeking a  national interest waiver of the job offer requirement or individuals seeking classification as a person of  extraordinary ability – you do not need to request job portability under INA 204(j).

Eligibility for immigrant visa classifications and specific requirements are described in the  USCIS Policy Manual and in the  Employment-Based Adjustment of Status FAQs .

Q. How do I leave my current employer to start working for a new employer while remaining in H-1B status?

A. Under H-1B portability provisions, you may begin working for a new employer as soon as they properly file a non-frivolous H-1B petition on your behalf, or as of the requested start date on the petition, whichever is later. You are not required to wait for the new employer’s H-1B petition to be approved before beginning to work for the new employer, assuming certain conditions are met. For more details about H-1B portability, see our  H-1B Specialty Occupations  page, under “Changing Employers or Employment Terms with the Same Employer (Portability).”

Q. What are my options if my H-1B employment is terminated?

A. When nonimmigrant workers are laid off, they may not be aware of their options and may, in some instances, wrongly assume that they have no option but to leave the country within 60 days.

If your employment is terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily, you typically may take one of the following actions, if you are eligible, to remain in a period of authorized stay in the United States:

• File an application for a change of nonimmigrant status;
• File an application for adjustment of status;
• File an application for a compelling circumstances Employment Authorization Document; or
• Be the beneficiary of a nonfrivolous petition to change employer.

If one of these actions occurs within the up to 60-day grace period, your period of authorized stay in the United States can exceed 60 days, even if you lose your previous nonimmigrant status. If you take no action within the grace period, you and your dependents may then need to depart the United States within 60 days, or when your authorized validity period ends, whichever is shorter.

For more detailed information, see our page on  Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment .

Q. My employer filed a Form I-140 immigrant worker petition on my behalf. What happens if I leave my job, or if my employer withdraws the Form I-140? Will I retain my priority date? Am I still eligible to adjust status?

A. First, let’s assume that your priority date is not yet current (meaning it is not earlier than the applicable cutoff date in the Visa Bulletin).

Starting from the moment that the Form I-140 filed on your behalf is approved:

• Your priority date is generally locked in for use in subsequently filed Form I-140 petitions (also known as priority date retention). The only way you can lose your priority date is if the I-140 approval is revoked on certain grounds such as agency error, fraud, or willful misrepresentation of a material fact.
• If you are otherwise eligible for H-1B status, this I-140 approval may be the basis to extend your H-1B status beyond the general 6-year period of admission limitation, in up to 3-year increments.
• Your spouse, if in H-4 nonimmigrant status or seeking a change of status to H-4 nonimmigrant status, would be eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document.

Within 180 days of the Form I-140 approval, if your employer withdraws the I-140 petition approval that was filed on your behalf, USCIS is obligated to automatically revoke the I-140 approval. You would not lose your priority date , but you would need a new basis in order to extend your H-1B status beyond the general 6-year limitation and ultimately adjust status.

After the Form I-140 filed on your behalf has been approved for at least 180 days, however:

• Even if your employer withdraws the Form I-140 approval, USCIS would not revoke the I-140 approval for that reason alone. You would continue to have an approved I-140, and would continue to be eligible for H-1B extensions beyond the general 6-year limitation if you are otherwise eligible for H-1B status. USCIS would only revoke the I-140 approval on certain grounds such as agency error, fraud, or misrepresentation of a material fact. You would, however, need a new basis on which to seek adjustment of status.

Next, let’s assume that your priority date becomes current, you have an approved I-140, and you properly file  Form I-485 (the application to adjust status).

• Once your Form I-485 has been pending for 180 days, you can “port” the offer of employment in the Form I-140 approval to a new job offer (same or different employer) as long as the new job offer is in a “same or similar” occupational classification when compared to the job offer in the Form I-140 petition. The new employer does not have to submit a new I-140 on your behalf, although you would need to file a “ Supplement J ” to request this job portability. (Technically, you can submit a Supplement J to port a pending I-140 even before it’s approved, but this scenario is less common. See the relevant  form instructions (PDF, 323.82 KB) on when you must submit a Supplement J.)

Finally, let’s consider one alternative scenario: More than 365 days have passed since the filing of a  PERM labor certification application or a Form I-140 petition on your behalf:

• You are eligible to extend your H-1B status beyond the general 6-year limitation, in up to 1-year increments. (As described above, the 3-year increments are only possible with an approved I-140 and a priority date that is not current.)  Thus, even if you are not eligible for the up to 3-year extension because your priority date is current, you may still be eligible for extensions in increments of up to 1 year if at least 365 days have passed since the filing of the PERM labor certification application or Form I-140 petition (or other employment-based immigrant petition, such as Form I-360) on your behalf.
• Your spouse, if in H-4 nonimmigrant status or seeking a change of status to H-4 nonimmigrant status, would be eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document if you have been granted an extension beyond the end of the general 6-year limitation on this basis.

Q. I have an approved Form I-140 but I know I will be waiting a long time for an immigrant visa to become available. Do I need to be the beneficiary of a valid, approved Form I-140 for the whole time I’m waiting?

A. You are not required to be the beneficiary of a valid, approved Form I-140 for the entire time you are waiting for an immigrant visa to become available. Generally, your first approved Form I-140 establishes your priority date. You do need a valid Form I-140 once an immigrant visa becomes available and you file your Form I-485, but it does not need to be the same I-140 that you used to establish your priority date.

In other words, an H-1B worker could establish their priority date with an approved I-140 from Employer A, then use H-1B petition portability to work for a number of other employers who do not file an I-140, and ultimately apply to adjust status based on a second approved I-140 from Employer Z (or use the approved I-140 from Employer A to “port” to a same or similar job offer from Employer Z, if eligible).

Please see the previous Q&A for more details about these scenarios.

Q. I believe my employer has retaliated against me. What protections are available to me?

A. You have a right to be protected from retaliation regardless of your immigration status. Immigration law may provide certain protections to you as an H-1B worker if you report suspected fraud or abuse. Normally, H‑1B workers are not eligible to extend or change their status if they have lost or failed to maintain their H-1B status. However, if they can demonstrate “extraordinary circumstances,” we may use our discretion to excuse this requirement on a case-by-case basis. We may consider a situation to be an instance of “extraordinary circumstances” if you:

• apply to extend your H-1B status or change your nonimmigrant status,
• indicate that you faced retaliatory action from your employer because you reported a Labor Condition Application violation,
• provide credible documentary evidence of such a report and retaliation, and
• lost or failed to maintain your H-1B status.

For more details, see  Combating Fraud and Abuse in the H-1B Visa Program .

For more general information on worker protections, visit  Worker.gov .

For additional information about protection for noncitizen workers who are involved in labor agency investigations, see  DHS Support of the Enforcement of Labor and Employment Laws .

Q. My employer filed an H-1B petition on my behalf, and it is pending at USCIS. If I travel internationally, will the H-1B petition be affected?

A. Only a beneficiary who is continuing to maintain nonimmigrant status may apply for a change of status. If you depart the United States while a petition requesting a change of status to H-1B is pending, we will consider the change of status request abandoned. If we approve the petition, the approval notice will be issued as a consular notification and will not confer H-1B status. In this scenario, you would generally need to apply for and obtain an H-1B visa stamp from a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad and present yourself for admission to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to obtain H-1B status. See the  U.S. Department of State website for information on the visa application process and the  CBP website for information on travel to the United States.

You must be physically present in the United States at the time your employer files a petition requesting an extension of stay on your behalf. However, departure from the United States while an H-1B petition requesting an extension of stay is pending will generally not serve as a basis to deny the extension request. Your employer may request that USCIS send notification of the H-1B extension approval to the consular office abroad where you will apply for a visa.

Q. I am in the process of applying for lawful permanent resident status while holding H-1B status. Will international travel affect my adjustment of status application?

A. For most adjustment of status applicants, if you depart the United States with a pending  Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status , without first obtaining an advance parole document, we will deny Form I-485 for abandonment. Exceptions to this rule exist for a narrow set of nonimmigrants, including those holding valid H-1B status. An individual in H-1B status who is not under exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings may travel while Form I-485 is pending without first obtaining an advance parole document if:

• Upon returning to the United States they remain eligible for H-1B status;
• They are returning to the United States to resume employment with the same employer for which their H-1B is authorized; and
• They are in possession of a valid H-1B visa.

Alternatively, an individual in H-1B status who has a pending Form I-485 and who has been granted an Advance Parole Document based on an approved  Form I-131, Application for Travel Document may depart the United States without abandoning their Form I-485 application, so long as they depart and return during the advance parole document’s validity period.

Q. I filed Form I-131 requesting advance parole and Form I-765 requesting employment authorization with my Form I-485. If I leave the United States before the advance parole and employment authorization are issued, will the applications be denied?

A. Departure from the United States generally will not on its own serve as a basis of denial of  Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization . However, if you file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document , requesting an Advance Parole Document and depart the United States without already having an Advance Parole Document that is valid for the entire time you are outside the United States, we will consider your Form I-131 abandoned and will deny that application.

You may be eligible for expedited processing of your applications. We consider expedited processing of Form I-131 if you have a pressing or critical need to travel for an unexpected event, such as the need to obtain medical treatment in a limited time or the death or grave illness of a family member or close friend. Expedited processing of a travel document may also be warranted if you have a pressing or critical need to travel outside the United States for a planned event, such as a work or professional commitment, academic commitment, or personal commitment, but processing times prevent USCIS from issuing the travel document by the planned date of departure. When the need to expedite issuance of a travel document is related to a planned event, we consider whether you timely filed the Form I-131 or timely responded to a request for evidence. A desire to travel solely for vacation generally does not meet the definition of a pressing or critical need to travel. See additional information in the  USCIS Policy Manual and our webpage on  Expedite Requests .

Q. I have an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) based on compelling circumstances and am no longer maintaining H-1B status. Can I travel abroad?

A. An EAD based on compelling circumstances does not serve as a travel document or otherwise provide eligibility for readmission into the United States. However, having an EAD based on compelling circumstances does not prevent you from applying for a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa at a consular post abroad to return to the United States, assuming you are otherwise eligible.

We consider an applicant with a valid EAD based on compelling circumstances to be in a period of authorized stay. In addition, we consider the time during which the EAD application was pending to be a period of authorized stay. Therefore, you generally do not accrue unlawful presence during the validity period of the EAD or during the time that a timely filed non-frivolous application is pending. Departing the United States to apply for a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa at a consular post abroad while working using the compelling circumstances-based EAD will not trigger the unlawful presence grounds of inadmissibility, as long as you are not subject to those grounds of inadmissibility from other circumstances. See additional information at  Employment Authorization in Compelling Circumstances .

Q. Can my H-4 dependent family members work?

A. H-4 dependents are not automatically employment authorized on the basis of their nonimmigrant status. Only H-4 dependents who affirmatively apply for and receive employment authorization from USCIS are authorized to work, and only certain H-4s are eligible for employment authorization. H-4 spouses may file  Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization , if the H-1B worker is the beneficiary of an approved  Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers , or has been granted H-1B status beyond 6 years based on 365 days having passed since a labor certification was filed with the Department of Labor or an immigrant visa petition was filed with USCIS on the H-1B worker’s behalf. See Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses .

Q. Are my H-4 dependent family members also subject to the 6-year maximum period of stay?

A. Dependent family members’ time in H-4 status is generally limited to the duration of the H-1B worker’s status. If an individual obtains H-1B extensions beyond 6 years, then their H-4 dependent family members are also eligible for extension of H-4 status for that same duration. Time spent in H-4 status does not count towards the 6-year maximum for H-1B status, so an individual who has spent 6 years in H-4 status my still obtain their own H-1B status for a period of 6 years.

Q. I am seeking lawful permanent resident status with my dependent family members, including my H-4 child. What happens when my H-4 child turns 21? Are they still eligible for LPR status?

A. Once your child turns 21 or gets married, they no longer meet the definition of a child under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and therefore will no longer be eligible for H-4 status.  At this point, to maintain nonimmigrant status your child would need to change to another nonimmigrant status – for example, F-1 or H-1B – for which they independently qualify.

Additionally, they may still be eligible to adjust status or apply for an immigrant visa under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), which protects certain beneficiaries from losing eligibility for adjustment of status and immigrant visas due to aging during the immigration process. If your child benefits from the CSPA, they will still lose their H-4 status after turning 21, but they will remain eligible to adjust status as a derivative beneficiary of your own adjustment of status application and immigrant worker petition despite being age 21 or over, assuming otherwise eligible. See the  USCIS Policy Manual for detailed information about CSPA, as well as  Employment-Based Adjustment of Status FAQs (Family Members).

Q. What actions has USCIS taken to support H-1B nonimmigrants seeking to adjust or change status in the United States?

Congress sets the  annual immigrant visa limits . Historically, demand for these visas, regardless of country of origin, is much higher than the annual limits can accommodate.

USCIS has taken several actions to help those who will be waiting a long time for an “immediately available” immigrant visa number, including a 2015 rule that allows certain  spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants  to apply for employment authorization, and a 2016 rule that has  improved job flexibility for H-1B workers and their families.

More recent improvements since 2021 include the following:

Operational improvements

• Issuing an unprecedented number of  employment-based green cards  in fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
• Increasing the maximum validity period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to 5 years for adjustment of status applicants and bringing back “combo cards” that provide evidence of both employment authorization and advance parole.
• Expanding  premium processing to all filers of Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Noncitizen Workers, as well as certain filers of Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.
• Updating policy guidance on  expedite requests , including when USCIS may expedite adjudication of an Application for Travel Document (Form I-131) when an applicant demonstrates a pressing or critical need to leave the United States, whether the need to travel relates to a planned or unplanned event. In addition, the guidance clarifies  expedite requests supported by a government agency .
• Removing the biometrics fee and appointment requirement for  applicants for a change or extension of nonimmigrant status (Form I-539). When legally permitted or when resources and operational efficiency allow, USCIS may “bundle” the adjudication of derivative applications that are filed together with the associated principal petition. For example, USCIS is currently “bundling” forms I-129 and I-539 for certain classifications, which provides near-contemporaneous adjudication of the derivative form I-539 with the principal Form I-129.
• Announcing process enhancements for  deferred action requests by workers , including H-1B workers, to support labor and employment agency investigations.
• Making progress on  reducing processing times (PDF) .

Policy improvements

• Strengthening the integrity of the H-1B program with a  final rule that created a new beneficiary-centric selection process for the FY 2025 H-1B registration period. This new rule has resulted in dramatically fewer attempts to game the system, as evidenced by  H-1B registration data . In addition, under the new beneficiary-centric selection process, if a worker has multiple legitimate job offers and any of these registrations are selected, then the worker may choose which employer to work for.
• Updating   policy guidance for international students , including clarification that F and M students must have a foreign residence that they do not intend to abandon, but that such students may be the beneficiary of a permanent labor certification application or immigrant visa petition and may still be able to demonstrate their intention to depart after a temporary period of stay. In addition, the guidance specifies how F students seeking an extension of optional practical training (OPT) based on their degree in a STEM field may be employed by startup companies, as long as the employer adheres to the training plan requirements, remains in good standing with E-Verify, and provides compensation commensurate to that provided to similarly situated U.S. workers, among other requirements.
• Updating the agency’s interpretation of the Child Status Protection Act to provide  additional protection for child beneficiaries of noncitizen workers from “aging out” of child status and allowing them to seek permanent residence along status with their parents, including clarification of the  “sought to acquire” requirement .
• Publishing  updated guidance on when a Form I-140 beneficiary may transfer, or “port,” to a new job, providing  clarity to those seeking to change employers during the lengthy process of becoming a lawful permanent resident.

Greater clarity

• Publishing resources for  nonimmigrant workers following termination of employment , to ensure that nonimmigrant workers who are laid off are aware of options that may permit them to remain in the country past the regular 60 day grace period.
• Issuing guidance on the eligibility criteria for  compelling circumstances Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). For example, a principal applicant with an approved immigrant visa petition in an oversubscribed visa category or chargeability area, who has lived in the United States for a significant amount of time, could submit evidence such as school or higher education enrollment records, mortgage records, or long-term lease records to support a potential finding of compelling circumstances. Compelling circumstances could include, if, due to job loss, the family may otherwise be forced to sell their home for a loss, pull their children out of school, and relocate to their home country.
• Individuals of extraordinary ability ( O-1 )
• Individuals of extraordinary ability and outstanding professors and researchers ( EB-1 )
• Individuals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability who can self-petition with a National Interest Waiver ( EB-2 NIW )
• Start-up founders growing their companies in the United States under the  International Entrepreneur Rule .

Meanwhile, the Department of State has launched an  Early Career STEM Research Initiative as part of the J-1 visa program, as well as a  domestic visa renewal pilot program.

We will keep working within our legal authority to provide as much flexibility, predictability, and dignity as possible for all those waiting for their chance to become a lawful permanent resident and ultimately a U.S. citizen.

• H-1B Specialty Occupations
• Employment-Based Adjustment of Status FAQs
• Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses .
• Employment Authorization in Compelling Circumstances
• Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment
• Options for Noncitizen STEM Professionals to Work in the United States
• Options for Noncitizen Entrepreneurs to Work in the United States

CrowdStrike outage sparks global chaos with airline, bank and other disruptions

Over 2,500 flights were canceled and more than 8,000 were delayed in the U.S.

A wave of IT outages swept across the globe Friday morning, causing thousands of flight cancellations and stalling internal and external systems across a variety of industries including hospitals, banks, stock exchanges and other institutions, as some Microsoft-based computers ceased to work.

CrowdStrike -- an American cybersecurity technology firm that provides cloud workload protection, threat intelligence and cyberattack response services -- said the outage is not a due to a cyber attack; it was caused by a software issue that has been identified and a fix had been deployed.

Some systems can be fixed and back up and running immediately -- but for others it "could be hours, could be a bit longer" before everything is back up and running, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told CNBC in an on-air interview. For some customers, it will take more than rebooting systems to work through fixes.

"CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted," Kurtz said earlier Friday.

In a letter to customers and partners, Kurtz apologized for the outage which he said was "caused by a defect found in a Falcon content update for Windows hosts."

"We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this. I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and ensure that you’re engaging with official CrowdStrike representatives. Our blog and technical support will continue to be the official channels for the latest updates," Kurtz said.

"As this incident is resolved, you have my commitment to provide full transparency on how this occurred and the steps we’re taking to prevent anything like this from happening again," Kurtz said.

Government and health service outages

Several states are experiencing a disruption in emergency communication services, according to a Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency memo obtained by ABC News.

The mayor of Portland has signed an Emergency Declaration which has impacted city servers and employee computers, including impacts to VPN connection and single sign-on cloud services.

In Phoenix, Arizona, the outage impacted the Phoenix Police Department’s computerized 911 dispatch center, but the 911 center remained operational. City IT is working diligently to find a workaround until the outage has been resolved.

In Alaska, many 911 and non-emergency call centers were not functioning correctly across the state, according to Alaska State Troopers. Some 911 services were down overnight in New Hampshire as well, but they have since been restored.

New York City officials said that emergency services are fully operational and have not been impacted by the outages.

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is also experiencing significant system-wide connectivity issues impacting the court's ability to conduct businesses. Remote hearings scheduled for Friday have been rescheduled and parties will be notified of the new date.

Some computers have been affected at Department of Justice in the outage, though there was no indication that it was affecting law enforcement activities in the field, a source told ABC News. A notice issued by the DOJ Office of the Chief information officer said the issue is "significant" and there is no restoration time.

The DOJ alerted users that they are among the businesses and government users worldwide affected and that the DOJ Office of the Chief Information Officer has actively been troubleshooting possible workarounds with Component CIOs and technical teams.

Law enforcement has been notified that there are already online actors and hackers who are attempting to infiltrate corporate and government IT networks by distributing emails with malware disguised as bogus software fixes for the CrowdStrike problem, a non-government source working on the problem told ABC News.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has also put out an alert to hospitals and law enforcement reporting that “multiple government agencies” have been affected, including the secretary’s operations center - even as the problem is starting to roll back.

MORE: CrowdStrike stock price plummets amid worldwide IT outage

Some hospitals around the country have also been affected in the IT outage. Mass General Brigham in Boston canceled all elective surgeries on Friday and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Avondale, Ohio, also reported some disruptions.

The Catholic Health system also said it is facing outages that are causing delays, but its hospitals and medical practices remain open.

Transportation delays and cancellations

The D.C. Metro system was also impacted, telling ABC News some of its internal systems were down and IT teams are working to resolve the issue.

New York City's mass transit system, the largest in the U.S., says that bus and train operations are not impacted by the global outage, though some MTA customer information systems are temporarily offline.

Global IT outages have also been reported in many countries across the world including Berlin Airport in Germany, the London Stock Exchange, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom.

"We're investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services," Microsoft said in a statement released on social media Friday morning.

Airlines are now beginning to slowly come back online, but it is expected to take time before they are back up and fully operational. Delays and cancellations are expected through the morning and into the early afternoon.

Thousands of flights were canceled in the U.S. after American Airlines , United and Delta asked the FAA for global ground stop on all flights, according to an alert from the FAA.

At least 2,537 flights were canceled and 8,376 were delayed in the U.S., FlightAware data reported as of 4 p.m. ET Friday.

The airlines with the highest rate of cancellations and delays so far are Delta and American. Delta has 331 cancellations and 194 delays. In its most recent update, Delta said that it has resumed some flight departures.

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International are the two airports seeing the largest number of delays and cancellations.

"No one here knows anything, the gate agents said we all know as much as they do," an airline passenger told ABC News, saying his flight from SeaTac Airport in Washington was delayed for two hours on the tarmac before passengers were deplaned. "I feel awful for the employees and those that have a sick loved one they need to get to or funerals, thankfully that's not us."

The FAA told air traffic controllers to tell airborne pilots that airlines are currently experiencing communication issues. Meanwhile, flights that were in the air already were allowed to continue on, but no American, United or Delta flights had been taking off during the outage.

"We're aware of a technical issue with CrowdStrike that is impacting multiple carriers. American is working with CrowdStrike to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience," American Airlines said in a statement obtained by ABC News.

"A third party software outage is impacting computer systems worldwide, including at United," United Airlines said in a statement on Friday morning. "While we work to restore those systems, we are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights already airborne are continuing to their destinations."

President Joe Biden was briefed on the CrowdStrike outage and his team is in touch with the company and impacted organizations, the White House said Friday.

"His team is engaged across the interagency to get sector by sector updates throughout the day and is standing by to provide assistance as needed," the White House said.

"The White House is in regular contact with CrowdStrike’s executive leadership and tracking progress on remediating affected systems. We have offered US government support. Our understanding is that this is not a cyber attack, but rather a faulty technical update. The White House has been convening agencies to assess impacts to the US government’s operations and entities around the country," a senior Biden administration official told ABC News.

The stock price of CrowdStrike plummeted in early trading on Friday amid a global IT outage that has affected clients worldwide. Shares fell nearly 15% on Friday morning, dropping the price to its lowest level since May.

-ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway, Sam Sweeney, Aaron Katersky, Joe Simonetti, Zunaira Zaki and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.

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Chaos and Confusion: Tech Outage Causes Disruptions Worldwide

Airlines, hospitals and people’s computers were affected after CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity company, sent out a flawed software update.

• Share full article

By Adam Satariano ,  Paul Mozur ,  Kate Conger and Sheera Frenkel

• July 19, 2024 Updated 5:19 p.m. ET

Airlines grounded flights. Operators of 911 lines could not respond to emergencies. Hospitals canceled surgeries. Retailers closed for the day. And the actions all traced back to a batch of bad computer code.

A flawed software update sent out by a little-known cybersecurity company caused chaos and disruption around the world on Friday. The company, CrowdStrike , based in Austin, Texas, makes software used by multinational corporations, government agencies and scores of other organizations to protect against hackers and online intruders.

But when CrowdStrike sent its update on Thursday to its customers that run Microsoft Windows software, computers began to crash.

The fallout, which was immediate and inescapable, highlighted the brittleness of global technology infrastructure. The world has become reliant on Microsoft and a handful of cybersecurity firms like CrowdStrike. So when a single flawed piece of software is released over the internet, it can almost instantly damage countless companies and organizations that depend on the technology as part of everyday business.

“This is a very, very uncomfortable illustration of the fragility of the world’s core internet infrastructure,” said Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of Britain’s National Cyber Security Center and a professor at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University.

A cyberattack did not cause the widespread outage, but the effects on Friday showed how devastating the damage can be when a main artery of the global technology system is disrupted. It raised broader questions about CrowdStrike’s testing processes and what repercussions such software firms should face when flaws in their code cause major disruptions.

How a Software Update Crashed Computers Around the World

Here’s a visual explanation for how a faulty software update crippled machines.

While outages are common, often caused by technical errors or cyberattacks, the scale of what unfolded on Friday was unparalleled.

“This is historic,” said Mikko Hypponen, the chief research officer at WithSecure, a cybersecurity company. “We haven’t had an incident like this.”

George Kurtz, CrowdStrike’s chief executive, said that the company took responsibility for the mistake and that a software fix had been released. He warned that it could be some time before tech systems returned to normal.

“We’re deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this,” he said in an interview on Friday on NBC’s “Today” show.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, blamed CrowdStrike and said the company was working to help customers “bring their systems back online.” Apple and Linux machines were not affected by the CrowdStrike software update.

A White House official said the administration was in “regular contact” with CrowdStrike and had convened agencies to assess the impact of the outage on the federal government’s operations.

CrowdStrike, founded in 2011 by Mr. Kurtz and others, has built a reputation over the years as a firm that could solve even the toughest security problems. It was tapped to investigate a 2014 hack of Sony Pictures and the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee, which exposed Hillary Clinton’s emails.

But problems stemming from CrowdStrike’s products have surfaced before. In April, the company pushed a software update to customers running the Linux system that crashed computers, according to an internal CrowdStrike report sent to customers about the incident, which was obtained by The New York Times.

The bug, which did not appear to be related to Friday’s outage, took CrowdStrike nearly five days to fix, the report said. CrowdStrike promised to improve its testing process going forward, according to the report.

On Thursday, the tech issues began when Microsoft dealt with an outage on its cloud service system, Azure, which affected some airlines .

Then CrowdStrike sent an update for its software called Falcon Sensor , which scans a computer for intrusions and signs of hacking. If everything had gone according to plan, CrowdStrike’s software would have received minor improvements and customers would have hardly noticed.

Instead, when CrowdStrike’s faulty update reached computers running Microsoft Windows, it caused the machines to shut down and then endlessly reboot. Workers around the world were greeted with what is known as the “blue screen of death” on their computers. Insufficient testing at CrowdStrike was a likely source of the problem, experts said.

As computers restarted themselves over and over, known as the “doom loop,” there was little CrowdStrike could do to fix the problem. Tech staff at affected companies were faced with a choice: walk around to each machine and remove the bit of flawed code, or wait and hope for a solution from CrowdStrike.

The problems cascaded instantly. At Sydney Airport in Australia, travelers encountered delays and cancellations, as did those in Hong Kong, India, Dubai, Berlin and Amsterdam. At least five U.S. airlines — Allegiant Air, American, Delta, Spirit and United — grounded all flights for a time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

How the airline cancellations rippled around the world (and across time zones)

Share of canceled flights at 25 airports on Friday

50% of flights

Ai r po r t

Bengalu r u K empeg o wda

Dhaka Shahjalal

Minneapolis-Saint P aul

Stuttga r t

Melbou r ne

Be r lin B r anden b urg

London City

Amsterdam Schiphol

Chicago O'Hare

Raleigh−Durham

B r adl e y

Cha r lotte

Reagan National

Philadelphia

1:20 a.m. ET

Health care systems were crippled, forcing hospitals to cancel noncritical surgeries. In the United States, 911 lines went down in multiple states, though many of those problems were being resolved later on Friday. Britain’s National Health Service also reported issues.

“We knew we had a catastrophe on our hands,” said B.J. Moore, the chief information officer for Providence Health, which has 52 hospitals in seven states. He said 15,000 servers were down and 40,000 out of Providence’s 150,000 computers were affected, adding that it was “worse than a cyberattack."

The United Parcel Service and FedEx said they were affected. Customers with TD Bank, one of the biggest banks in the United States, reported issues accessing their online accounts. Several state and municipal court systems closed for the day because of the outage.

At CrowdStrike, engineers described an atmosphere of confusion as the company struggled to contain the damage.

Executives urged employees not to speculate on why the mistake happened and directed them to focus on a fix for the computers that were affected, said two engineers who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Computers not connected to the cloud required a physical fix to the error introduced by CrowdStrike, they said, which could take weeks.

Within several hours of the faulty software going out, CrowdStrike sent out a software patch as a fix that would stop computers from endlessly rebooting.

Lukasz Olejnik, an independent cybersecurity researcher and consultant, said the outage would still take time to resolve because a suggested solution for some organizations involved rebooting each computer manually into safe mode, deleting a specific file and then restarting the computer.

While that is a relatively straightforward process, security experts said, it may not be easy to do at scale. Those with organized and well-staffed information technology teams could potentially fix the issues more quickly, Mr. Olejnik said.

Unlike the iPhone software updates that Apple sends to customers, the incident highlighted information technology systems that operate in the background. The CrowdStrike issues were compounded because the software being updated performed critical cybersecurity tasks, giving it access to scan a computer to look for viruses and other malicious attacks.

Cybersecurity tools operate quietly in the background to defend computers against attacks. The software is frequently updated with new defenses as hackers develop fresh methods of attack, but constant updates mean there are many opportunities for mistakes to happen.

“One of the tricky parts of security software is it needs to have absolute privileges over your entire computer in order to do its job,” said Thomas Parenty, a cybersecurity consultant and a former U.S. National Security Agency analyst. “So if there’s something wrong with it, the consequences are vastly greater than if your spreadsheet doesn’t work.”

On Friday, the stock price of CrowdStrike, which reported $3 billion in annual revenue last year, closed down 11 percent.

CrowdStrike’s stock price so far this year

The company faces questions about what liabilities it and other software makers face for major disruptions and cybersecurity incidents. The consequences for significant outages can be so minimal that companies are not motivated to make more fundamental changes, experts said. While a car manufacturer would face stiff penalties for faulty brakes, a software provider can often issue another update and move on.

“Until software companies have to pay a price for faulty products, we will be no safer tomorrow than we are today,” Mr. Parenty said.

Meaghan Tobin , Aaron Krolik and Jill Cowan contributed reporting.

Adam Satariano is a technology correspondent for The Times, based in London. More about Adam Satariano

Paul Mozur is the global technology correspondent for The Times, based in Taipei. Previously he wrote about technology and politics in Asia from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul. More about Paul Mozur

Kate Conger is a technology reporter based in San Francisco. She can be reached at [email protected]. More about Kate Conger

Sheera Frenkel is a reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering the ways technology impacts everyday lives with a focus on social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Telegram and WhatsApp. More about Sheera Frenkel

Mass IT outage: here's a list of companies and operations affected

• A huge global IT outage is disrupting flights, banks, retailers, and media outlets.
• The widespread disruptions have been linked to an issue with the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
• Operations affected include airlines in the US and Europe, supermarkets, and some 911 lines.

A mass IT outage has hit flights, banks, retailers, and media outlets around the world.

The issues appear to be linked to the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike .

Microsoft also acknowledged the issue in an X update early Friday, writing, "Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions."

Here are some of the companies and operations affected.

Numerous airlines grounded flights early Friday morning, including the big three US carriers: United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines. In statements, they all cited technology issues.

Delta and American had both canceled their ground stops by 7 a.m. ET.

A United spokesperson told Business Insider that it was holding all aircraft at their departure airports while it works to restore systems. "Flights already airborne are continuing to their destinations," they added.

American has blamed the issues on CrowdStrike, saying they were because of a "technical issue with Crowdstrike that is impacting multiple carriers," according to BBC News.

The budget airlines Frontier, Allegiant, and Spirit also issued ground stops which were later canceled.

Frontier's was issued on Thursday night. "Flight operations are currently being impacted by a major Microsoft technical outage," it said in a statement.

Spirit said it was unable to rebook affected customers because of the outage.

Disruption also extended to Europe. The continent's largest airline, Ryanair, advised passengers to arrive early as the outage caused "disruption across the network."

KLM also said it had to "largely suspend operations" as the outage made "flight handling impossible."

British Airways, Wizz Air, Turkish Airlines, Eurowings, Lufthansa, and Qantas were also among those who said they were affected.

According to a Facebook post from Alaska State Troopers , emergency lines in the state are also affected.

The post said: "Due to a nationwide technology-related outage, many 911 and non-emergency call centers are not working correctly across the State of Alaska."

"We appreciate your patience and will update you when we know more," the statement added.

The major UK airports Heathrow, Gatwick, and Luton have reported issues, with some warning of delays and disruption.

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An X post from Gatwick Express , a train service for the airport, said the company was unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, "leading to potential short-notice cancelations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks."

A spokesperson for Belfast International Airport confirmed to BI that whiteboards were being used to handwrite flight information before systems were later restored. Whiteboards were also used at Singapore Changi Airport.

Hospitals and doctors' surgeries

Several hospitals and doctors' practices appear to have been affected by the outage.

In the UK, the NHS' EMIS system, which doctors use to book appointments, view patient notes, order prescriptions, and make referrals, appears to be having issues .

A spokesperson for the NHS told BI in a statement: "The NHS is aware of a global IT outage and an issue with EMIS, an appointment and patient record system, which is causing disruption in the majority of GP practices."

They said that long-standing measures were in place to manage disruption and that there was no known impact on 999 or emergency services, so people should use these services as normal.

"Patients should attend appointments unless told otherwise and only contact their GP if it's urgent, and otherwise please use 111 online or call 111," they added.

Two German hospitals canceled elective operations scheduled for Friday, Reuters reported.

NYCT Subway

Commuters in New York City and DC may also face delays Friday morning.

In an X post, the NYCT subway said: "Train arrival information is unavailable for A/B/C/D/E/F/G/J/M/N/Q/R/Z/Rockaway Park Shuttle/Franklin Av Shuttle due to a worldwide technical outage. Train service is unaffected."

The post said the tech outage also impacted Subway officials' ability to see train locations.

Broadcasters

Sky News also appears to have been hit by the outage. The UK news channel has been showing archive footage and briefly displaying an error message.

The news site appears to be up and running at the time of writing.

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange's website was also experiencing issues.

"RNS news service is currently experiencing a third-party global technical issue, preventing news from being published on www.londonstockexchange.com ," the company said in a statement.

"Technical teams are working to restore the service. Other services across the group, including London Stock Exchange, continue to operate as normal," it continued.

Retailers and fast-food giants

Bloomberg reported that McDonald's Japan suspended about a third of its stores in the country on Friday. The issue was with the stores' cash registers, the report said.

The grocery-store chain Woolworths told BI that some stores had "been impacted as a result of the global IT issue." All but six stores were open for business, but some had fewer functioning checkouts.

Delivery delays

FedEx and UPS are warning of delivery delays because of the outage.

In a statement on the company's website , FedEx said it was experiencing "substantial disruptions throughout our networks due to a global IT outage experienced by a third-party software vendor." The company said parcels due to be delivered on Friday might face delays.

A UPS spokesperson told BI that it continues to operate effectively but there may be some service delays due to third-party outage "impacting some UPS computer systems in the U.S. and Europe."

Some US state driver services are down

Drivers in some states are unable to access services because of the outage.

Georgia's Department of Driver Services posted on X that "due to the global Microsoft/Crowdstrike outage, DDS services are unavailable at this time."

Tennessee's Department of Safety and Homeland Security said some Driver Services Centers may not be able to process transactions, according to a post on X.

North Carolina's Department of Motor Vehicles driver license and plate agencies are also impacted and unable to assist customers, according to a CNN report.

Bloomberg reported that at the Ocean Park Marriott in Hong Kong, staff were using pen and paper to check guests in and said the outage was affecting their systems globally.

Marriott International later told CNN in a statement that "certain hotel systems" have been affected.

"We are actively working with our vendors to resolve issues that have impacted certain hotel systems," the company said in a statement to the publication. "We apologize for any inconvenience that guests may experience."

Watch: Global computer glitch grounds flights, knocks out 911

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