Washington D.C. September 20: Chaos erupted at airports in the United States as Indians panicked amid President Donald Trump's decision to hike H-1B visa fees to USD 1,00,000. Many videos have surfaced on social media showing Indians, who were returning reportedly for Navratri and Durga Puja celebrations, began de-boarding the flight after the announcement was made by the President.
A video was shared on Instagram by Masud Rana on Instagram claiming, "It's a complete chaos for the H1B VISA holder of Emirates passengers at San Francisco Airport. This Friday morning President Trump signed an order affecting both new and existing H1B visa holders, creating panic among many—particularly Indian passengers—who even chose to leave the aircraft. As a result, we stuck in the same spot over 3 hours, waiting for the flight to depart."
The video shows that the passengers who are present on the flight are panicked reportedly after hearing the news of the new visa fees. They are seen standing on their seats and a few passengers are seen moving in the passage between the seats in panic. The video also shows that an announcement is being made requesting the passengers to calm down, however, nobody seems to listen to the announcement being made.
There are also reports that the flight ticket prices from India to the US have surged upto USD 4,500 as all the Indians who were on vacation are trying to move back to the United States amid the chaos.
A user shared the details on X and said, "Flights from India to the US have surged to $4500 USD because of all the people on "vacation" coming back Except they're not on vacation, they've been illegally working out of India once they secured their H-1B. You have to understand how utterly corrupt these people are."
Another social media user said that a flight which was full of Indian passengers was about depart SFO Airport. The Indian passengers were reportedly returning for Durga Puja, when the H-1B visa news broke and they panicked and pleaded to get off the plane, however, they were not allowed to de-board.
The user said, "Extremely sad situation. An international flight packed with Indians (coming for Durga Puja) from Bay Area had completed boarding & was due to leave SFO Airport, when the news about H1 B visa new rules just broke out. Indians aboard panicked, pleaded to get off the plane, but alas."
US President Donald Trump on Friday (September 19) signed a proclamation mandating $ 1,00,000 annual fee for all the H-1B visa holders. The news came as a setback for the Indian in the US as over 70% of the H-1B visa holders are Indians. There are reports that from Sunday (September 21), H-1B visa holders will be denied entry into the United States unless they pay the USD 1,00,000 fees imposed by the Trump administration.
India on Saturday responded to Donald Trump's decision and said that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is examinig the implications of the decision.
