US Airfares Soar, Indians Flying Home Deplane After Trump’s $100k H-1B Fee Move

Last Updated:September 20, 2025, 16:02 IST

Immigration experts say the narrow window makes it almost impossible for anyone currently in India to beat the deadline

After being informed about the September 21 deadline, a number of Indian H-1B visa holders decided to disembark before departure at San Francisco Airport | Image: X

A shock move by US President Donald Trump to raise the H-1B visa fee to a staggering $100,000 (about Rs 88 lakh) has set off scenes of chaos among Indian professionals and travellers.

The order, announced with little notice and set to take effect from 12:01 am EDT (9:31 am IST) on September 21, bars H-1B holders from re-entering the United States unless their employers pay the new fee.

The timing has collided with the annual Durga Puja holiday season, when many Indian tech workers traditionally fly home, triggering panic at both US and Indian airports.

Airports In Turmoil

Social media flooded with reports of Indian passengers deplaning mid-journey at US airports as news of the sudden hike spread.

At San Francisco Airport, for instance, an Emirates flight was delayed for hours 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 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."

According to another eyewitness in Dubai, 10–15 passengers disembarked within 20 minutes after hearing about the re-entry deadline.

Airlines Hike Fares

With Indians making up roughly 70 per cent of all H-1B visa recipients, the scramble to return before the cut-off time pushed ticket prices sky-high.

Within hours, one-way fares from Delhi to New York jumped from about Rs 37,000 to nearly Rs 70,000–80,000, and some last-minute bookings touched $4,500.

Tech giants, including Amazon, Microsoft and JP Morgan, quickly advised their H-1B employees to stay put in the US and for those already overseas to return immediately—if they could.

Immigration experts say the narrow window makes it almost impossible for anyone currently in India to beat the deadline.

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.

“Anyone still in India has effectively missed the window," said US immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta, warning that H-1B holders abroad will be stranded unless their companies are willing to pay the $100,000 surcharge.

For many, what began as a routine trip home for Durga Puja has turned into a race against time and money. Flights are oversold, fares have doubled, and panic continues to ripple through Indian tech communities worldwide.

As of now, unless the Trump administration softens the policy or delays implementation, thousands of Indian professionals risk being locked out of the very country where they live and work—a development that could disrupt not just personal plans, but entire teams in the US tech industry.

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