SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Confusion over President Donald Trump’s sudden announcement of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas caused chaos at San Francisco International Airport on Friday, when dozens of Indian passengers demanded to disembark from an Emirates flight bound for India. The turmoil led to a three-hour delay as staff scrambled to remove both passengers and their checked luggage. On September 19, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a steep new annual $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025. The announcement — released without warning — triggered panic among Indian professionals, many of whom feared they would be barred from reentering the U.S. if they left before the deadline.
While the White House later clarified that the new fee applies only to new visa applicants, not to current holders, the reassurance came too late to quell confusion. A senior administration official told ANI:
“Those who are visiting or leaving the country, or visiting India, they don’t need to rush back before Sunday or pay the $100,000 fee. $100,000 is only for new and not current existing holders.”
Passengers on the Emirates flight said they received urgent calls from employers warning them not to leave the country. Many, already seated on the plane, panicked and pleaded to be allowed off. The process of unloading dozens of passengers, retrieving their bags, and re-clearing the flight delayed departure for more than three hours.
The disruption at SFO was not isolated. Similar reports of panic emerged from Dubai and other U.S. airports, as Indian professionals tried to cancel or change tickets at the last minute. Tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon reportedly advised H-1B employees to return to the U.S. before the rules took effect, adding to the scramble.
Making matters worse, online forums such as 4chan saw users deliberately reserving tickets from India to the U.S. in the checkout stage, preventing H-1B holders from securing last-minute flights.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a response, saying the government is carefully studying the implications of the new U.S. measure in consultation with industry stakeholders. It emphasized that policymakers would weigh the decision against the backdrop of the strong mutual benefits that U.S.–India ties have fostered, particularly in areas like technology, innovation, and people-to-people exchange. The MEA stated that the mobility of skilled talent has significantly contributed to economic growth, competitiveness, and wealth creation in both countries. At the same time, it further cautioned that the move could create serious humanitarian consequences by disrupting families, and expressed hope that U.S. authorities would take steps to address those concerns responsibly.
Friday’s panic underscores the fragile balance of the U.S.–India relationship at a time of heightened trade and immigration tensions. For Silicon Valley, which relies heavily on Indian H-1B workers, the confusion threatens not just travel plans but also project timelines and workforce stability.
For now, officials insist that current visa holders remain unaffected. But with the deadline approaching and uncertainty rampant, the fear at SFO may be just the beginning of a much larger disruption.
