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Donald Trump’s newly implemented $100,000 charge on H-1B visas has dashed the aspirations of Indian university students aiming for success in the United States.
The president’s latest effort to overhaul American immigration involves a massive one-time visa fee for highly skilled foreign workers.
To qualify for an H-1B visa, US employers must sponsor a foreign national for a specialty occupation that requires at least a bachelor’s degree.
In 2023, the Pew Research Center reported that roughly 73 percent of all approved H-1B visa applicants hailed from India.
When the White House announced the $100,000 fee last week, students at technical universities across Indian said their hearts broke.
‘My dreams were shattered,’ Sai Jagruthi, a 17-year-old engineering student at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, told The New York Times.
She said her father called her to tell her the news and recalled him saying, ‘It was the best option, and we are going to lose it.’
Jagruthi expressed that the situation was particularly heartbreaking as her father ‘desires a better future for his daughters. Moving to the US was supposed to be their opportunity.’
Sai Jagruthi, a 17-year-old engineering student at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in India, felt her ambitions crippled by the visa fee hike.
Donald Trump signed an executive order that imposes a $100,000 fee on all new H-1B foreign visa applications
‘I will consider Germany once my studies are over here. If the US does not work out, I will try that.’
Ruthvitch Sharma, who aspired to work at NASA, shared with The Times that his peers in India share a common objective: ‘to collaborate with the most exceptional talents globally.’
At Malla Reddy University, Santosh Chavva, 21, who is nearing the completion of his undergraduate studies with a degree in artificial intelligence, looked forward to pursuing higher education in the US.
‘But then a bomb fell. Trump announced the H-1B visa hike, which was such a shock to me,’ he said. ‘I felt so sad.’
Chavva’s classmate, Narra Lokesh Reddy, said workers on H-1Bs in America are responsible for a lot of success and developments in their fields.
‘They built a lot of unicorns and start-ups,’ he said, adding that forcing Indian entrepreneurs to stay at home could ‘push India to self-reliance.’
Mixed messages about the new policy caused confusion and chaos for employers, students and workers alike over the weekend.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said September 19 that the fee would be an annual cost, but the White House clarified the next day that that it was a one-time fee.
Students in India, including at Malla Reddy University (pictured), were devastated by the news. In 2023, nearly three-quarters of all H-1B workers whose applications were approved were born in India
Footage taken at San Francisco Airport showed a number of Indian passengers trying to leave an Emirates flight moments before it was due to depart for Dubai over fees they would not be able to return
The restrictions would also not impact existing H-1B holders; however, the new policy, which took effect at 12.01am ET on September 21, will charge companies every time they make a request to bring in a skilled worker from another country via the H-1B visa.
Despite the caveats, the confusion over the sudden announcement sent Indian passengers on an Asia-bound flight leaving San Francisco into a frenzy earlier this month.
Footage taken at San Francisco Airport showed a number of Indian passengers trying to leave an Emirates flight moments before it was due to depart for Dubai.
Panic-stricken travelers were worried that leaving the US would mean that they would have to pay the hefty fee if they returned after the deadline at midnight on September 21.
Passenger Masud Rana, who filmed the moment travelers tried to exit the plane, said he was delayed by over three hours due to the turmoil on board.
Typically, passengers are not allowed to leave a plane once boarding has begun; however, many could be seen leaving as the pilot addressed the ‘unprecedented’ situation over the loudspeaker.
The captain told passengers in the footage: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the captain speaking.
‘Due to the current circumstances, obviously, that are unprecedented for us here at Emirates, we are aware that a number of passengers do not wish to travel with us, and that’s perfectly fine.
‘All we ask is that if you wish to offload yourself, you do so.’
Rana wrote on his widely circulated social media post, showing the moment when the situation was ‘complete chaos.’
‘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,’ he wrote.
