Google campus in Mountain View, California on Wednesday May 10, 2023. Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images
A wave of panic and confusion has spread through Indian communities and the global tech industry, following US President Donald Trump’s surprise order imposing a $100,000 fee for the H-1B visa, impacting the largest group of beneficiaries of the skilled-worker program.
The initial announcement on Friday ignited immediate and widespread confusion, culminating in chaotic scenes like the one aboard an Emirates flight from San Francisco to Dubai. The plane was stuck on the tarmac for three hours as H-1B holders scrambled to understand if they would be able to re-enter the country.
Video of the incident verified by CNN appears to show the captain attempting to calm the nerves of worried passengers on board.
“Due to the current circumstances, obviously they’re unprecedented for us here at Emirates,” he can be heard saying over the speaker of the plane as confused passengers check their phones. “We are aware that a number of passengers do not wish to travel with us. That’s perfectly fine.”
CNN has contacted Emirates for a response.
Masud Rana, who was on the flight and filmed the video, called the situation “complete chaos,” in an Instagram post, adding it created “panic among many – particularly Indian passengers – who even chose to leave the aircraft.”
Washington has justified its latest immigration crackdown as a necessary measure to curb what it describes as “systemic abuse” of the program and to encourage the hiring of American workers.
The H-1B visa is a work visa that’s valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Economists have argued the program allows US companies to maintain competitiveness and grow their business, creating more jobs in the US.
But Trump’s new move is set to disproportionately impact skilled professionals from India, who have consistently accounted for the majority of approved applications in recent years, threatening to upend the career paths of hundreds of thousands of individuals and disrupt the business models of tech firms reliant on global talent.
The H-1B visa fee “is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement Saturday, adding it hopes that the “disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities.”
The White House later clarified the $100,000 visa fee will apply only to new H-1B applications.
For decades, the H-1B visa has served as a gateway for some of India’s brightest minds to enter the US workforce, acting as a crucial launchpad for building long-term careers in America.
This has not only allowed skilled Indian professionals to contribute their expertise but in many ways, enabled them to become deeply integrated into the fabric of American innovation.
The most striking evidence of this success is visible across the top leadership of today’s tech giants: Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen were all born in India and earned degrees from American universities.
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