New H-1B Visa Fees at $100K: Trump Policies Impacting Immigrant Dreams

Every year, millions of Indians dream of studying, working or traveling abroad. However, obtaining a visa isn't always easy. Agent's deception, fraud, and regulatory complexities often shatter people's dreams. Every rejection isn't just about documentation errors; it's about a system that halts the flight of dreams.

H-1B employees are advised against going abroad for at least 14 days.

Source: aajtak

Confusion, fear, and hasty decisions... That's how it was over the weekend when the lives of hundreds of Indians working on H-1B visas in the USA suddenly turned upside down. The reason? President Donald Trump's surprise order raising the H-1B visa fee to $100,000 (approximately 88 lakh INR).

Who is the real villain?

In 2024, 71% of the total H-1B visa holders were Indians. Today, they are caught in turmoil. Internal emails from large tech companies (which later went viral on X) advised H-1B employees to refrain from going abroad for at least 14 days. Those working overseas rushed to book flight tickets back to the U.S., while immigration lawyers scrambled to understand the new policy.

A dream that many Indians see - an aspiration to study, work, or travel abroad, but in reality, obtaining a visa isn't too easy. The deception of agents, fraud, and the intricacies of regulations often shatter people's dreams. Each rejection isn't merely due to documentation errors but also reflects a system that hinders the flight of dreams.

Source: aajtak

Sky-high ticket prices

Last-minute ticket bookings led to sudden airfare hikes from Indian cities like Delhi and Mumbai to New York, Newark, Chicago, and San Francisco. An analysis by India Today's OSINT team of Google Flights data revealed that tickets on the Delhi to Chicago route surged from ₹35,000 to ₹48,276, while from Mumbai, it spiked to ₹49,076.

A dream many Indians see - aspiring for studying, working, or traveling abroad, but in reality, obtaining a visa isn't straightforward. The deception of agents, fraud, and the intricacies of regulations often shatter people's dreams. Each rejection isn't merely due to documentation errors but also reflects a system preventing dreams from taking flight.

Source: aajtak

White House clarifies, but fears linger

By Saturday, the White House had to provide clarification, stating that the new fee would only apply to new applicants and just once. Despite this, the H-1B visa program, accused on one hand of stealing American jobs and praised on the other for bringing global talent, faces an uncertain future.

The dream of studying, working or traveling abroad is seen by many Indians every year. However, in reality, obtaining a visa is not easy. The deception of agents, fraud, and regulation intricacies often shatter dreams. Each rejection isn't just a document error, but rather reflects a system halting the flight of dreams.

Source: aajtak

Concern grows among Indian families

Families of H-1B visa holders in India are also tense. Google search data indicates a sudden spike in keywords related to H-1B. This trend mostly emerged from Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Impact on Indian workers

A dream that many Indians see - an aspiration to study, work, or travel abroad, but in reality, obtaining a visa isn't easy. The deception of agents, fraud, and the intricacies of regulations often shatter people's dreams. Each rejection isn't just a document error, rather reflects a system that halts dream flights.

Source: aajtak

To understand the impact on Indian H-1B visa holders, India Today analyzed Bloomberg's open data on 2024's H-1B applications. This data, collected during investigations of Indian overseas employment agencies, contained agency records and employment contracts before being released as open data.

This analysis revealed that in 2024, at least 53% of salaries offered by US companies matched or fell below the new $100,000 H-1B visa fee set by Trump. About 12% of Indians earned less than $75,000, 41% had packages between $75,000–$100,000, and the rest earned over $100,000. In contrast, more than 60% of non-Indian H-1B workers earned over $100,000.

This data clearly shows that for most Indian H-1B workers, this new cost makes it economically challenging for employers to justify hiring them. The salary data is based on details submitted by employers before job commencement under H-1B approval, recording the salary stated in the offer letter or employment contract.

The crumbling American dream for Indians

For decades, the H-1B visa was a gateway for India's talented minds to work in the USA. Today's top leaders of global tech giants, such as Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet (Google), Arvind Krishna of IBM, and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, serve as proof. Born in India and holding degrees from American universities, they epitomize this dream.