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• Google and Apple are advising some employees with visas not to travel outside the US, per memos viewed by Business Insider.
• The companies’ law firms recommended that staff who need their visas stamped for re-entry stay in place.
• A social media screening requirement for visas is causing appointment delays stretching for months.

Google and Apple have advised some employees on visas not to travel outside the US due to delays at embassies, Business Insider has learned.

Both companies’ outside counsels sent emails advising staff who require a visa stamp to re-enter the US not to leave the country because visa processing was taking longer than usual, according to copies of the memos reviewed by Business Insider.

“Please be aware that some US Embassies and Consulates are experiencing significant visa stamping appointment delays, currently reported as up to 12 months,” the memo sent Thursday by BAL Immigration Law, which represents Google, says. The firm recommended that employees avoid international travel as they would “risk an extended stay outside the US.”

A memo from Fragomen, a law firm representing Apple, sent to some visa holders at Apple last week similarly warned them not to travel.

“Given the recent updates and the possibility of unpredictable, extended delays when returning to the U.S., we strongly recommend that employees without a valid H-1B visa stamp avoid international travel for now,” the memo says. “If travel cannot be postponed, employees should connect with Apple Immigration and Fragomen in advance to discuss the risks.”

American consulates and embassies around the world are seeing delays with routine visa appointments following the introduction of a new social media screening requirement, which applies to H-1B visa workers and their dependents, as well as students and exchange visitors.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the Department of State told Business Insider it was conducting “online presence reviews for applicants.” The department said it may move appointments as resources change, with applicants able to request expedited slots on a case-by-case basis.

“While in the past the emphasis may have been on processing cases quickly and reducing wait times, our embassies and consulates around the world, including in India, are now prioritizing thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else,” the State Department spokesperson said. Appointments in Ireland and Vietnam have also been postponed, according to immigration firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC.

Google’s lawyers said in their memo that the delays were affecting H-1B, H-4, F, J, and M visas.

Neither company’s advisory specified what anyone on a visa already outside the country with a postponed appointment should do.

A Google spokesperson declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider

How enhanced visa vetting can complicate a routine trip abroad

The warnings from Google and Apple echo a wave of internal travel advisories that swept through corporate America in September, after the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas.

The H-1B visa typically lasts up to three years and can often be extended. If someone needs a new H-1B visa stamp, they typically must apply at a US embassy or consulate in their home country or a country where they have lawful residence.

As a general matter, said immigration attorney Jason Finkelman, who focuses on employment and family immigration, foreign nationals should be able to return to the US after travel abroad if they have a valid visa stamp and aren’t subject to any entry restrictions, including the Trump administration’s expanded travel ban, which the White House says takes effect January 1.

That’s where enhanced vetting can complicate an otherwise routine trip. If an H-1B worker leaves the US to get a new visa stamp and their consular appointment is canceled or delayed — sometimes by months — they can be stuck abroad until the visa is issued.

“My advice to clients is that if travel isn’t essential right now, better to stay put,” Finkelman said.

A spokesperson for the Department of State said consular officers “do not issue a visa unless the applicant can credibly demonstrate they meet all requirements under US law — including that they intend to engage only in activities consistent with the terms of their visa.”

The H-1B program, which is capped at 85,000 new visas a year, serves as a core pipeline for employers hiring skilled foreign workers. Tech giants have long been among the largest users of the visa, with companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta topping the lists of approved new H-1B petitions in recent years. 

During the 2024 government fiscal year, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, applied for 5,537 H-1B visas, while Apple applied for 3,880, according to Business Insider’s analysis of publicly available data from the Department of Labor and US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Under the Trump administration, the program has become a political flash point, with the White House framing H-1Bs as a threat to American jobs. Critics and some employers say the administration’s policies are making it harder and more expensive to hire new workers.

• The Justice Department released a large trove of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
• Documents include photos of the disgraced financier with some high-profile figures.
• The photos are not evidence of wrongdoing.

The Justice Department on Friday released thousands of documents related to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier.

The trove of files, many of which were redacted, includes uncredited and undated photos that provide a snapshot into Epstein’s inner life and circle.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of prostitution with a minor under the age of 18. Nine years later, the financier was charged with the sex trafficking of minors. He died by suicide in 2019 while in federal custody.

Some of the images are of his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on multiple felony counts, including the sex-trafficking of a minor. Other photos show the wide spectrum of high-profile figures Epstein came into contact with during his life.

The images include former President Bill Clinton, billionaire Richard Branson, actor Kevin Spacey, and The Rolling Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger, among others.

The photos are not evidence of wrongdoing, nor do they detail what relationship the financier had with any of the figures. Some of the figures aren’t pictured with Epstein.

Here’s what the Friday document dump included. The following list is not exhaustive.

Check back for more updates.

Bill Clinton, former US president

Clinton has shown up several times in investigations into Epstein, including in the flight logs of Epstein’s private jet. Clinton traveled internationally with Epstein on several occasions after his two terms as president ended in 2001.

There have been no public accusations of wrongdoing against Clinton related to his friendship with Epstein.

A spokesperson for Clinton did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

In a statement posted on social media, Angel Ureña, a spokesperson to the former president, suggested that Clinton knew nothing about Epstein’s criminal activity.

“There are two types of people here. The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light,” he wrote. “The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”

Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones front man

A legal representative for Jagger did not respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department included no information about where or when the photo was taken.

Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder

Branson and a spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Similar photos of Branson and Epstein were released by the House Oversight Committee earlier this month.

Kevin Spacey, actor

A spokesperson for Spacey did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Jackson, singer

A spokesperson for Jackson’s estate did not respond to a request for comment.

Chris Tucker, actor

A spokesperson for Tucker did not respond to a request for comment.

Jean-Luc Brunel, global modeling agent

Jean-Luc Brunel was a French modeling agent who founded Karin Models in 1977. He also founded MC2 Model Management with funding from Epstein.

Brunel was found hanged in an apparent suicide in his prison cell in 2022. He was being held in a Paris prison while awaiting trial on charges of rape of a minor and trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation.

A legal representative for Brunel’s estate did not respond to a request for comment.

Sarah Ferguson, former Duchess of York

Former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson has faced public scrutiny for her associations with Epstein. Her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, relinquished his royal titles earlier this year amid ongoing public inquiry into his own friendship with Epstein.

A representative for Ferguson did not respond to a request for comment.

• Dating as a widowed parent has brought unique challenges and emotional complexities.
• Solo parenting differs from single parenting, with no shared custody or breaks from parenting.
• Despite the obstacles, I’ve found dating after loss possible and rewarding.

Dating is difficult at any age. Dating when you have a child is complicated. But, when you decide to date after the passing of your partner, there’s even more to consider. I was 48 when my husband succumbed to cancer. My daughter was almost 10.

Why would I want to date? I was heartbroken. A piece of my life and my entire vision of the future had been ripped away from me. I didn’t want love. I wasn’t interested in a replacement. I’d lost the illusion of forever.

I just wanted conversation, companionship, and a new way of looking forward and reimagining. But, any kind of reimagining requires imagination and reconciliation. I was parenting a traumatized child while also trying to care for myself.

What would my daughter think about me dating? Would she think I was betraying her dad?

I didn’t tell my daughter I was going on dates at first. I didn’t bring anyone to meet her until I’d had a few positive dates. I didn’t introduce her to anyone I didn’t think of as potential friend, a good person.

I was clear with everyone I went out with that I wasn’t looking for something permanent and that I certainly wasn’t looking for a new dad for my daughter. My daughter adored her dad, and rightfully so. She had thoughts on the few people I did introduce her to:

“He’s too young for you.”

“He likes you too much.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about him. Even if he got me a good present.”

And, eventually, “He seems pretty chill.”

Then, when you find someone you’re interested in seeing, there’s the challenge of when and where

Solo parenting is not single parenting. My daughter didn’t split time between me and another parent. I couldn’t tell a potential date, “my daughter’s with her other parent this weekend — I’m free.”

I had to define what my boundaries were and enforce them. So, no one could be in the space I shared with my daughter. I couldn’t make him dinner, invite him in for drinks.

There’s also not a lot of free time for a solo parent with a full-time job. I needed to be there for soccer, Girl Scouts, school plays. Those were nonnegotiable. I wouldn’t date someone who wanted me to prioritize them over my daughter.

There were also internal challenges I had to settle for myself

Dating as a widowed parent means accepting a need for connection and feeling guilty for wanting it at the same time.

What did it say about me? Did it mean that my feelings about my husband hadn’t been sincere? Was it fair to the men I went out with?

I wanted conversation with people who didn’t know me in my married life, people who could see present and future me, but who also wouldn’t push too much for a future with me.

Even with so much to consider, dating has not only been possible, but it’s been positive

Despite all of the challenges, I’m not only making it work, I’m thriving. I’ve met some really good people who want connection, whatever that looks like, in this iteration of our lives.

New Epstein files released — Here’s the latest

The Justice Department has officially released documents on Jeffrey Epstein, the well-connected financier who killed himself in jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019.

Friday’s disclosure is the first of what are expected to be several rounds of document releases over the coming weeks as the DOJ scrambles to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in November.

So what do the latest Epstein files contain? Business Insider reporters have begun looking through the trove of documents and we’ll be reporting highlights as they’re discovered.

A taxidermied tiger, among other photos

Included among the photos were images of former President Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger, and Michael Jackson at gatherings with Epstein. One collection of photos included a series of nude photographs, redacted so as not to be explicit.

Other images appear to be from Epstein’s Manhattan home, including photos of his bedroom, risque wall art, what appeared to be an effigy hanging from the staircase, and a taxidermied tiger.

The White House issued this statement on the drop

“The Trump Administration is the most transparent in history. By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have. And while President Trump is delivering on his promises, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender. The American people deserve answers.” Abigail Jackson WH spokeswoman

Watch out! The DOJ has some warnings about its release

The DOJ added several warning notices about its Epstein documents. One advised that “certain portions of this library may not be appropriate for all readers” due to their descriptions of sexual assault.

Another warned that some people’s personal information could be shared, and suggested that it was the fault of the legislation.

“In view of the Congressional deadline, all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure,” the homepage reads. “That said, because of the volume of information involved, this website may nevertheless contain information that inadvertently includes non-public personally identifiable information or other sensitive content, to include matters of a sexual nature. In the event a member of the public identifies any information that should not have been posted, please notify us immediately at EFTA@usdoj.gov so we can take steps to correct the problem as soon as possible.”

The DOJ used a Tickermaster-style queue system to access the files

To access the files, the DOJ established a Ticketmaster-style queue system. However, queue numbers were only valid for 10 minutes before expiring, resulting in the loss of your place in line.

“We are currently experiencing extremely high volume of search requests at this time,” reads a display screen where viewers were forced to wait in line. “We have placed you in a waiting queue and we will process your search request as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience.”

The Epstein files are out — here’s what we know

The Department of Justice has released files on Jeffrey Epstein. You can find them here.

The big question is what they contain and whether they are searchable.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier Friday that the DOJ will not release its complete trove of documents on Friday as required by the legislation. He said to expect “several hundred thousand documents today,” including photos, and the rest “over the next couple of weeks.”

Friday’s release should include photos

In speaking to Fox News on Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said to expect at least some photos in Friday’s batch of documents.

“I expect that we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms — photographs and other materials associated with the investigation into Mr. Epstein,” Blanche said.

In recent weeks, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released new photos they obtained through subpoenas of Epstein’s estate. We’ve seen titans of industry like Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and Sergey Brin.

Sen. Adam Schiff responds to the predicted delay in releasing all files

Schiff responded to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who told Fox News on Friday morning that the DOJ would “release several hundred thousand documents today,” but would fall short of releasing all files.

“The Epstein Files Transparency Act is clear: while protecting survivors, ALL of these records are required to be released today,” Schiff wrote on Bluesky. “Not just some.”

“The Trump administration can’t move the goalposts. They’re cemented in law,” Schiff added.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law on November 19, states that the documents can be released no “later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.” According to the law, the attorney general needs to “make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice.”

One thing we could see: Steve Bannon’s footage of Epstein

In 2019, ahead of Epstein’s arrest and suicide, Steve Bannon filmed what he said were 15 hours of interviews with Jeffrey Epstein.

That footage has remained under wraps. If the footage was on Epstein’s hard drives, however, the DOJ might have obtained it when the FBI seized his electronic devices around the time of his arrest on sex-trafficking charges.

Recently released text messages between Epstein and Bannon have shed some light on the project, which was intended to be a promotional documentary to burnish Epstein’s reputation.

Read that story here:Read full story

TickTock. When will the Epstein files come out?

Justice Department officials told multiple news outlets earlier today that the files will be released at 3 p.m. ET.

The DOJ has now missed that deadline. By law, it has until midnight tonight to release all of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Some things we could see in the Epstein files

While the specifics of what will be in the files released on Friday aren’t clear, here is some of what is anticipated:

• Any deals between the government and Epstein associates, including non-prosecution agreements and sealed settlements.
• Records tied to Epstein’s death in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, such as transcripts of interviews with people in neighboring cells the night he died.
• Records into what has widely been criticized as a “sweetheart deal” for Epstein by federal Florida prosecutors.
• Material surrounding calls victims say they made to the FBI as early as the 1990s about Epstein’s conduct, which did not lead to any known law enforcement investigation.
• Additional flight records from Epstein’s private jets.

DOJ says it is meeting “the initial deadline”

The Justice Department is pushing back on criticism that it is not meeting the statutory deadline, characterizing it as an “initial deadline” — though the law does not call it that.

“The Trump administration is providing levels of transparency that prior administrations never even contemplated,” the Justice Department’s office of public affairs wrote on X. “The initial deadline is being met as we work diligently to protect victims.”

https://x.com/DOJSpox47/status/2002088420588540212?s=20

The White House initially opposed the transparency law until enough Republican lawmakers broke with GOP leadership to join House Democrats, forcing a vote on the bill. After it became clear Congress would move ahead anyway, Trump flipped his stance on the legislation.

The seized materials that form the heart of the “Epstein files”

During Epstein’s 2019 arrest, the FBI searched his Manhattan townhouse and his home in the US Virgin Islands. In the process, they obtained more than 70 computers, iPads, and hard drives, along with financial documents and binders full of CDs.

Those seized materials form the heart of the “Epstein files,” which could shed even more light on the deepest, darkest secrets of the notorious pedophile.

How are these files expected to be different than previous Epstein-related releases?

By law, the Justice Department is required to publish “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” about Epstein and Maxwell.

Those could include more emails and text messages, as well as internal prosecutorial records. The Justice Department has overseen two different criminal investigations into Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls. The first took place in Florida and led to a widely criticized plea deal in 2008. The second was the Manhattan-based investigation, which led to Epstein’s 2019 arrest and Maxwell’s prosecution.

A pair of top House Democrats threaten legal action if there is any delay in release of files.

“We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law,” Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Robert Garcia of California said in a joint statement. “The survivors of this nightmare deserve justice, the co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency from DOJ.”

Raskin and Garcia serve as the top Democrats on the powerful House Judiciary Committee and the Oversight Committee, respectively. Since Democrats control neither chamber of Congress, their power to force the immediate disclosure of the documents is more limited.

Don’t expect the DOJ to release all of its Epstein files on Friday

Earlier today, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department would not meet the legal deadline imposed by bipartisan legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law in November that requires the DOJ to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” regarding Epstein and his conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche said during an interview on Fox News.

Other documents have been made public over the years through the federal prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator, was found guilty of sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Civil lawsuits involving Epstein, Maxwell, banks affiliated with Epstein, and the US Virgin Islands government have shaken loose even more details about his life. Various drips and drabs have also entered the public domain through Freedom of Information Act requests, government reports, and an inquiry from the Senate Finance Committee.

All of that may pale in comparison to what the Justice Department has in its possession.

Haven’t we already seen a whole lot of ‘Epstein files’?

Yes. In recent months, the House Oversight Committee has made public Epstein-related documents it obtained through subpoenas, including emails provided by his estate and never-before-seen photos of some of Epstein’s powerful acquaintances, including Trump, Bill Gates, Larry Summers, and Steve Bannon.

Those disclosures have already led to some fallout. Summers, a former Treasury Secretary, has been barred from the American Economic Association for life and is no longer teaching classes at Harvard University, pending an investigation.

Catch up on the key background details

Epstein killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He was known for rubbing elbows with powerful people — even after he was convicted of soliciting sex from a minor in 2008. Over the years, he has counted Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and other titans of finance, law, politics, and science among his acquaintances.

While a past relationship with Epstein is no indication of wrongdoing, his victims and other members of the public have pushed for the disclosure in hopes that the DOJ’s records might shed light on those relationships and law enforcement’s handling of the case.

Elon Musk is entitled to his $55.8 billion Tesla pay package from 2018, Delaware’s Supreme Court ruled.

A Delaware Chancery Court judge struck down the compensation package last year after a Tesla shareholder sued over the massive payday, which was tied to a series of growth goalposts for the EV company.

The Delaware Supreme Court’s ruling overturns that decision, saying it was too extreme a remedy.

Tesla shareholders recently approved an even bigger pay package of up to $1 trillion for Musk if Tesla achieves further sales and growth goals.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

• Taylor Swift says her dating mindset was “very non-athlete” before meeting her fiancé, Travis Kelce.
• “I’ve always just been like, ‘Well, what would we talk about?'” Swift says in her new docuseries.
• Swift also reveals that her mom, Andrea Swift, encouraged her to give Kelce a chance.

If pop star Taylor Swift and elite athlete Travis Kelce seem like an unexpected match from the outside, Swift isn’t surprised to hear that — she once felt the same way.

In her Disney+ docuseries, “The End of an Era,” Swift opens up about the beginning of her relationship with Kelce and why she was initially hesitant to date her now-fiancé.

“I’d been very non-athlete. Because I’m not one. And I’ve always just been like, ‘Well, what would we talk about?'” Swift says in episode four, “Thank You For the Lovely Bouquet.”

Indeed, Swift says that during her first date with Kelce, “he literally had to explain football as if it were violent chess, which kind of helped me understand it.”

Swift also reveals that her mom, Andrea Swift, was the one who encouraged her to give Kelce a chance. Andrea had seen headlines about Kelce attending one of the Eras Tour stops at Arrowhead Stadium, his home field with the Kansas City Chiefs, and saying on his podcast that he’d hoped to meet Swift before the show and give her a friendship bracelet with his phone number.

Andrea says in the docuseries that she was impressed by the “earnest” gesture and found it promising that Kelce would engage with the details of Swift’s world, like making a friendship bracelet. She asked around about Kelce, and her cousin, a big Chiefs fan, told her that Kelce was known as “the nicest guy” who loves his mom.

“And so you call me up,” Swift explains, addressing Andrea, “with this tone of like, ‘Hey, I know you’re gonna not react well to this. But there’s a guy.’ You said something to the effect of, ‘You’ve gotta start doing something different.'”

Before Kelce, Swift’s public relationships were almost always with artist types, usually movie stars or musicians like Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, and Calvin Harris. Most notably, Swift dated British actor Joe Alwyn for about six years. Their split was announced soon after the Eras Tour kicked off in early 2023.

Weeks later, Swift was romantically linked to The 1975 front man Matty Healy. After about one month of public outings and strong objections from Swift’s fans, TMZ broke the news that Swift was single again.

Swift released her 11th album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” in 2024. The 31-song tracklist features recurring themes of heartbreak, alienation, and romantic disillusionment. Swift characterizes the album as a “purge of everything bad that I felt for two years.”

“It was a really rough time in my life, so the songs reflect that — feeling like I’m not a person, I’m just like, this big conglomerate that no one sees as a real human being, and especially not men that I date,” she explains in the docuseries. “And in the whole process, just being like, ‘Nothing works. There is no one for me in the world.'”

“I went through two breakups on the first half of this tour,” she adds, “and that’s a lot of breakups, actually. The show was what gave me purpose.”

Swift’s latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was largely written during the second half of the Eras Tour. It features overt references to her relationship with Kelce, who got down on one knee shortly before the album’s release.

Despite Swift’s fears that she wouldn’t have anything in common with a football player, she now believes her and Kelce’s careers are more similar than not.

“We both have jobs where we go out in NFL stadiums, and we entertain people for three and a half hours,” Swift says. “It’s our passion. We’ve been chasing this since we were little kids. I don’t think I ever thought I’d meet a guy who had that same trajectory.”

“Travis is just very comfortable with, conceptually speaking, a big life,” she adds. “Because he has one, and it’s not one that he has reluctantly.”

In the final scene of episode four, Kelce is shown waiting below the stage for Swift to finish one of her concerts. They kiss and leave the stadium together while Swift, in a voiceover, reflects on their unlikely match-up: “If you ever would’ve told me that the most meaningful relationship I would ever have would start with a man saying that he was ‘butthurt’ that I didn’t want to meet him — like, unbelievable. Unbelievable.”