National Visa Center Workers Protest Return to Office Directive

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Workers at the National Visa Center gathered in protest Monday against a federal directive mandating their return to in-person work after five years of remote employment. Frustrated employees expressed concerns over job security and workplace policies.

The rally comes as employees face an ultimatum to return to the office full-time starting next week. Many of the workers, who process visas for immigrants, were originally hired through the federal contractor LDRM with an understanding they could work remotely as long as they lived within 90 miles of the facility.

“They say, ‘come back. You just have to come back right now,’” said union representatives representing the employees. This abrupt shift has raised concerns among workers who have established their lives around remote work, prompting fears of displacement and the need to relocate. “Thirty days is not enough time to be able to redo your whole life,” one worker noted.

A significant point of contention during the protest was the recent firing of colleague Shane Tassinari, the UE Local 228 Chief Steward. Tassinari shared details about his termination, explaining, “He said he wanted to talk to me about a termination. I said, ‘who are we terminating?’ He said, ‘you.’ I said, ‘neat.’”

According to Tassinari, his firing was a result of an alleged failure to comply with a vague government directive related to email signature polices. “What am I being terminated for…?” he quoted, recalling his conversation with management. The directive required the removal of pronouns from email signatures, which Tassinari argued were not present on his status but interpreted as non-compliance nonetheless.

The policy change has been labeled by Tassinari as “vague and overreaching,” further complicating an already tense workplace environment. He cautioned that these changes could severely impact immigration processing, stating, “If we go away, everything that we process here – it’s slow now – it would grind to a complete halt until they could figure out how to adjust to it.”

Organizers of the rally made it clear that the frustration is not limited to Tassinari’s situation alone but reflects broader discontent with management’s abrupt reset of workplace policies post-pandemic. A request for comment from LDRM has been initiated, but no response has been received as of yet.