India-US flight fares soar after Trump’s sudden H-1B visa fee hike; airports witness chaos
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "India-US flight fares soar after Trump’s sudden H-1B visa fee hike; airports witness chaos")
Representative image Photograph: (PTI)
H-1B visa holders in India have already missed the deadline, as there is no way for them to arrive in time. Trump’s sudden move disrupted personal plans in the short term but will also severely impact teams in the US tech industry.
US President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to increase the fee for H-1B visas to $100,000 (Rs 88 lakh) with an abruptly short implementation deadline of September 21 has resulted in a sharp hike in fares of flights to the US, while airports in the US, Dubai, and India witnessed chaos as Indian techies started disembarking from aircraft on getting the intimation. Tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon told their employees outside the US to return within 24 hours to avoid denial of reentry and urged all their H-1B visa holders to not leave the US for at least 14 days.
During this time of the year, several Indians working abroad come home for Durga Puja, which starts next week.
Meanwhile, those already in India saw fares of the direct flights to the US shoot up massively as airlines looked eager to cash in on the chaos unleashed by Trump. Since Indians account for about 70% of all H-1B visa recipients, the move hits them hard.
The rules are quite evidently clear—enter the US before 12.01 am EDT (9.31 am IST) on September 21. After that, no H-1B worker will be allowed to enter the US unless the sponsoring employer pays the $100,000 fee.
Short Sept 21 deadline sparks chaos
Top tech firms like Amazon, Microsoft, and JP Morgan acted swiftly and advised their employees holding H-1B visas not to leave the US and asked those currently abroad to return to the US immediately.
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However, H-1B visa holders on a vacation or business trip to India have already missed the deadline.
H-1B visa holders who are out of the US on business or vacation will get stranded unless they get in before midnight on September 21. H-1Bs still in India have already missed the deadline, as there is no way for them to arrive in time.
Direct flights from Delhi or Mumbai to New York take 15–16 hours, and with India nearly 10 hours ahead of Eastern Time, even travellers boarding on the morning of September 20 IST would land after the US deadline.
Airfares shoot up massively
A one-way flight fare from New Delhi to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York jumped to Rs 70,000-80,000 from around Rs 37,000 within two hours of Trump’s announcement as people scrambled to return before the cut-off time.
H-1B holders disembark from aircraft
The impact on H-1B holders was visible even at the US airports. Several H-1B visa holders flying out of the US chose to disembark from the aircraft after getting intimation about the September 21 deadline.
WATCH: Nasscom On H1B Visa Fee Hike: US Will Feel A 'Ripple Effect'
An Emirates flight was delayed for hours at the San Francisco International Airport when several Indian passengers insisted on disembarking.
“It was complete chaos… many H-1B visa holders just refused to fly once the news broke,” posted a traveller Masud Rana on X.
Similar scenes played out in Dubai and other transit hubs.
Kaustav Majumdar, a chartered accountant, described how “an international flight packed with Indians from the Bay Area had completed boarding… when panic erupted and people pleaded to get off.”
Another eyewitness in Dubai said 10–15 passengers disembarked within 20 minutes after hearing about the re-entry deadline.
Trump’s sudden move disrupted personal plans in the short term but will also severely impact teams in the US tech industry.
