Confusion and panic gripped hundreds of Indians on H-1B visas over the weekend following a surprise order by US President Donald Trump imposing a $100,000 fee—over ₹88 lakh—for the visa. The abrupt announcement left Indian H-1B holders, who make up about 71 percent of visa recipients in 2024, scrambling for information and guidance. Internal emails from major tech companies advised employees not to travel abroad for at least 14 days, while immigration lawyers worked to interpret the new policy.
The sudden rush to secure flights caused fares from Indian cities to US destinations to spike sharply. Google Flights data analysed by India Today’s OSINT team revealed that fares to Chicago jumped from a typical ₹35,000 to ₹48,276 from Delhi and ₹49,076 from Mumbai. Searches for H-1B-related information also surged in India, particularly from Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra, reflecting widespread concern among families of affected workers.
The White House later clarified that the fee would apply only to new applicants and was a one-time charge. Despite this clarification, uncertainty remains over the long-term viability of the H-1B programme, which has long been a conduit for skilled Indian professionals to join the US workforce. Analysis of Bloomberg’s 2024 H-1B dataset shows that over half of Indian visa holders earned salaries below or close to the newly announced fee, making it financially unviable for many employers to justify hiring them. Approximately 12 percent of Indians earned below $75,000, and 41 percent were in the $75,000–$100,000 range, while the majority of non-Indian H-1B workers earned above $100,000.
For decades, the H-1B visa has enabled India’s skilled professionals to enter the US workforce, contributing to the leadership of major tech firms. Top executives such as Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen are examples of Indian talent who benefited from this pathway. The new fee, however, threatens to disrupt this longstanding pipeline of skilled workers, potentially limiting opportunities for future Indian professionals seeking to work in the United States.
