There is a scramble of people on H-1B visas on vacation in India to return to the US - fuelled by worries they would be barred from re-entering following US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on overseas workers.
Many Indian executives visiting family in India cut short their vacation, paid double for air tickets to get back into the US before Sunday after Mr Trump’s announcement that companies would need to pay a $100,000 fee to employ H-1B visa holders.
“People are very anxious and rushing to reach back before September 21 because that is the deadline they have heard in the news,” Anil Punjabi, director of Ares Travels in Calcutta, India, told The National.
“The news was not clear at first whether it was new H-1Bs or for people with existing visas so people wanted to get out on the first flight to the US. We helped a lot of people book new tickets yesterday, leaving much earlier than they intended. Most had to buy fresh tickets and paid twice the fare sometimes as high as 200,000 rupees ($2,270).”
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, later clarified that the $100,000 was not an annual fee but a one-time payment that applied only to new visas and not for renewals and not for current visa holders.
“Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter. H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would,” she said on X to make clear that existing work visas “would not be impacted by the proclamation”.
The confusion intensified after US media reported that several companies including Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon sent emails to their employees advising them to avoid foreign travel, cancel plans to leave the country and to return to the US before Sunday.
“We strongly recommend H-1B and H-4 visa holders return to the US tomorrow before the deadline,” Microsoft said in an internal email accessed by Reuters.
Mr Punjabi spoke of the worry of families in India that their loved ones would be stopped by immigration officials at US airports.
“There were so many who had to cut short their vacation, there was disappointment because these holidays are dear to them since they come back after several years. There is also worry because their careers are at stake,” he said.
“There is some sort of a sigh of relief now after the clarification but no one knows how long that will last because this (Trump) administration comes up with something new every morning.”
The $100,000 fee was scheduled to take effect at 12:01am ET on Sunday as per the White House proclamation.
When signing the notice, Mr Trump said companies would need to pay $100,000 as an annual fee for highly-skilled foreign workers, adding that the tech industry was not opposed to the move. The US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick also said “all big companies” were on board.
India’s technology industry body, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) expressed concern about the decision warning of the ripple effect on jobs and the overall economy.
Nasscom said while they were reviewing the details of the order, “adjustments of this nature can potentially have ripple effects on America’s innovation ecosystem and the wider job economy. It will also impact Indian nationals … India’s technology service companies will also be impacted as business continuity will be disrupted for onshore projects which may require adjustments".
The group said high-skilled workers were vital to the economy.
“Nasscom has consistently emphasised that high-skill talent is vital to driving innovation, competitiveness and growth for America’s economy,” the tech association said.
“This is especially critical at a time when advances in AI and other frontier technologies are set to define global competitiveness. High-skill talent will remain central to sustaining America’s innovation leadership and long-term economic strength.”
Flight disruption
An Emirates flight from San Francisco, scheduled to arrive in Dubai, was apparently delayed by three hours after several Indian passengers disembarked over fears they would not be able to return to the US due to visa restrictions.
The passengers were filmed trying to get off a flight before departure at San Francisco International Airport following the announcement of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions to enter the country.
Footage of passengers trying to leave the aircraft was shared on social media platforms, with several feeling it was not worth risking delays and possible fees, affecting their job status, when returning to the US.
Emirates has been contacted for comment.
