There is no need to rush back, a US official told Hindustan Times on Saturday amid chaos among techies over US President Donald Trump’s shocking announcement on H-1B visas. “Indians on H1B visas do not need to rush back to America by Sunday or pay $100,000 to re-enter the country,” a US official said.
The clarification comes in light of the Trump administration imposing $100,000 annual fee on US companies on each H-1B visa worker. The move severely impacts Indians as they account for 70% of these visa holders.
The US official also clarified that the hefty H-1B visa fee will apply “ONLY to new visa petitions and not to renewals”.
The official’s remarks may come as a big sigh of relief for many techies who had earlier been alarmed by notices from many tech firms, like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and JP Morgan, urging employees to stay put in the US, and asked those out of the country to return before September 21, 12:01 am EDT.
The Indian government has advised all Indian missions to extend help to nationals travelling back to the US in the next 24 hours, people familiar with the matter told HT.
In an internal communication, Microsoft had said it “strongly recommends” that holders of H-1B and H-4 visas return to the US before the deadline. Similar notices were issued by Amazon, Meta and JP Morgan as well.
The time mentioned by all companies, Sept 21, 12:01 am EDT, was in line with the deadline specified in the proclamation signed by Donald Trump in this regard.
The H-1B visa drew fresh attention on Friday after the Trump administration announced that US firms hiring foreign workers will now be required to pay a $100,000 fee. Donald Trump had signed a proclamation titled ‘Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers’, which stated that the H-1B visa program was originally designed to bring in temporary workers for “additive, high-skilled functions,” but has instead been deliberately misused to replace American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour.
Panic gripped Indians following the announcement, and they reportedly disembarked from planes minutes before take-off in the US. Viral videos captured chaotic scenes at San Francisco International Airport, where passengers on an Emirates flight to India began disembarking before takeoff amid fears they might not be allowed re-entry into the US later.
“An international flight packed with Indians(coming for Durga Puja)from Bay Area had completed boarding & was due to leave SFO Airport,when the news about H1 B visa new rules just broke out. Indians aboard panicked,pleaded to get off the plane,” wrote an X user.
A video purportedly showed Indians pleading to be let off a plane after chaos over the H-1B visa news. However, HT couldn’t independently verify the clip.
At 71%, Indians make up a significant portion of those carrying H-1B visas, with the Chinese standing a distant second of 11-12%. Earlier, the H-1B visa fee in most cases stood at $215 plus an additional $750, and in some instances, depending on company size and job category, it could exceed $5,000.
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