SAN FRANCISCO: Panic and confusion spread among H-1B visa holders from India and China as they scrambled to return to the United States following President Donald Trump’s new immigration order imposing visa fees.
Tech companies and banks sent urgent memos advising employees abroad to return before the Sunday deadline and to avoid leaving the country thereafter.
A White House official later clarified that the order applied only to new applicants and not to existing visa holders or those seeking renewals, addressing some initial confusion.
Several Indian nationals at San Francisco airport reported cutting short vacations for fear of being barred from re-entry once the new rule took effect.
An engineer described the heartbreaking choice between family and staying in the US after his wife, also an H-1B holder, deplaned to care for her sick mother in India.
An Emirates flight from San Francisco to Dubai was delayed over three hours as several Indian passengers demanded to deplane upon hearing news of the order.
On Chinese social media app Rednote, H-1B holders shared frantic experiences of rushing back to the US, sometimes just hours after arriving in their home countries.
One woman in New York canceled her trip to France after her company’s lawyers advised employees abroad to return immediately, describing feeling “insignificant” and “shaken.”
Major companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Goldman Sachs issued urgent travel advisories to their employees following the proclamation.
This move represents the Trump administration’s most high-profile effort to reshape the H-1B visa program, which it claims suppresses wages for American workers.
Supporters argue the program is essential for filling talent gaps and maintaining competitiveness in key industries like technology and finance.
Social media flooded with debate over the order’s scope and dismay at what many saw as diminishing America’s appeal as a work destination.
One anonymous user on Rednote described cutting short a Tokyo holiday as a “real-life ‘Fast & Furious’ return to the US,“ referencing the popular film series.
The proclamation stated that some employers have abused the H-1B program to artificially suppress wages, disadvantaging American citizens.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem may exempt petitioners from the fee at her discretion, according to the order.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick initially stated companies would pay $100,000 annually per H-1B worker, but the White House later clarified this was a one-time fee per petition.
An Nvidia engineer with ten years in the US described rushing back from Japan with his wife and infant as everything seemed to change instantly. – Reuters