U.S. companies scramble to cope with seven-country immigration ban

U.S. companies scrambled on Saturday to cope with the fallout from President Trump's executive order on immigration, with Google urgently calling back employees from overseas and companies rushing to provide legal advice and assistance.

Trump's order bars citizens of seven countries from entering the United States even if they hold valid visas or permanent residence permits, a move that caught many companies off-guard.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to staff that more than 100 Google employees were affected by the order, according to a Google executive. One Google employee of Iranian nationality with legal U.S. residency made it back to the United States just hours before the order took effect, the executive said.

"We���re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," Google, part of Alphabet Inc , said in a statement. "We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere."

Microsoft said in a statement, "We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, and we���re actively working with them to provide legal advice and assistance.���

Facebook had no comment beyond a Friday blog post from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in which he said he was "concerned" about the order and voiced support for immigrants.

(Reporting by Joseph Menn; Writing by Jonathan Weber)