Travel ban throws tourists, workers into chaos

Bay Area travelers and H-1B workers face flight cancellations, lack of info

Katie DeCarlo found out she might not be able to come back to the Bay Area on just the second full day of her vacation in Bilbao, Spain.

“I woke up and had a bunch of text messages and the first was from my boss,” said DeCarlo, a tech worker who lives in San Francisco. “It kinda worried it me.”

President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions, which took effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday and prevent citizens from 26 European countries from traveling to the United States for 30 days, threw things into chaos for DeCarlo and other Americans now in Europe as airlines changed schedules and tried to handle a flood of calls. The unprecedented ban, intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the country, also presents significant challenges for Bay Area companies that rely on large foreign workforces.

DeCarlo’s boss, co-workers and relatives all started texting her about the travel restrictions shortly after they were announced. American citizens and permanent residents, plus their immediate relatives, are exempted, but DeCarlo said she and her partner were worried enough that they wanted to fly back early. A friend traveling through Belgium at the same time was planning to do the same.

DeCarlo, who works for a technology company in San Francisco, started looking for ways to come home. She and her partner waited two hours on hold with United Airlines only to get disconnected when someone picked up. They tried to call later, but an automatic phone menu told them the volume of calls for flight changes was too high for their request. They couldn’t change their flights on the United Airlines website, she said. They even looked into buying new tickets but $2,000 per ticket was more than they could afford.

“At one point we were thinking … that we had a choice,” she said. “We actually don’t have a choice. We have to wait to see what the airline will do.”

After spending most of what they thought would be their first jet-lag-free day as tourists trying to figure out when they’d come home, DeCarlo said they’re going to try to take their original flight back next week. But with the number of cancellations, she’s preparing for the worst.

“It’s a thing of dystopic movies,” she said. “Worst case scenario, we stay in Spain for a long time.” She’s already looked into how much it would cost to sublet an apartment.

United said travelers can change their flight reservations online and, in a statement posted on its website, said it had capped prices on flights between the U.S. and countries on the travel restrictions list. It’s unclear what the cap is, but a search on Friday morning showed flights from several European cities including Bilbao, Barcelona and Madrid to San Francisco cost about $3,000.

Other airlines are experiencing similar problems. In an email to customers, American Airlines asked travelers whose flights were not in the next 72 hours “to wait until closer to your trip to contact us” so they can focus on customers with immediate needs.

Adding to the confusion, DeCarlo said, is that flights from Europe once the ban takes effect will only be allowed into select U.S. airports. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement it would allow flights into 11 major airports where officials can conduct “enhanced health screening.” According to American Airlines, that includes San Francisco International but not Oakland or San Jose.

The challenges are even greater for Bay Area technology companies that have global workforces that include foreign workers, particularly those on H-1B and other work visas who aren’t permanent residents. Those workers could have trouble renewing expired visas or passports or even be stopped from coming back to the U.S. if officials feel they’re coming from a high-risk area, according to Rebecca Bernhard, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney.

Shev Dalal-Dheini, director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has said it will make exemptions for late filings but lawyers are waiting for specifics.

“I think it is chaotic because everything came all of a sudden,” Dalal-Dheini said. “No one was prepared for this to be coming down the pipeline.”

Her organization is already asking for clarification on how H-1B workers could be affected by working from home, as Santa Clara County health authorities have recommended for businesses here. That’s because H-1B workers are required to inform the government where they’ll be working, and any significant changes could require filing additional paperwork with the U.S. Department of Labor.

In Bilbao, DeCarlo said she knows she’s privileged to be traveling and to be able to work remotely if needed. Her partner, who manages a bar in San Francisco, has already heard two workdays have been cut because there aren’t any customers.

But through it all, she said one of her biggest concerns has been the lack of clear, official information. “I’m very confused about my government right now,” she said.