New H-1B rules sparked weekend chaos
The White House had to clarify a few things about a new visa fee.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
• less than 3 min read
A proclamation from President Trump on Friday prompted some visa holders to rethink the value of travel insurance this weekend. The order—which imposed a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, starting yesterday at 12:01 am—set off a panic, prompting H-1B employees to change vacation plans and have an awkward conversation with their house sitter.
What are H-1B visas? The H-1B program is designed to help employers fill specialized, high-skilled positions with college-educated foreign workers:
- Nearly 400,000 H-1B visas were approved last year; 260,000 were renewals, according to the Pew Research Center.
- Most recipients in 2024 ended up in computer-related roles, per government data.
- The government also reported that 71% of recipients were from India. Chinese workers received the second-highest percentage, at 11.7%.
What happened on Friday: Trump’s proclamation raised the H-1B fee from $215 to $100,000. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the signing that the move would compel companies to choose between hiring an H-1B employee and making a “$100,000-a-year payment to the government,” or hiring an American.
Post-proclamation confusion
Within hours, major companies—including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—sent memos to their H-1B employees, urging them not to leave the US until the employers could sort out what the order meant. If employees were already abroad, they were told to return before the Sunday deadline.
On Saturday, the White House clarified that the fee will be a one-time thing (not annual) and will only affect new applicants (not current visa holders). But, like someone five minutes into watching the movie Tenet, confusion had already taken hold:
- An international flight departing from San Francisco Airport was delayed for hours after several Indian passengers demanded to deplane, Reuters reported.
- One employee who spoke to the BBC said he went home to India for a memorial service and then spent more than $8,000 on flights that would get him back to the US ahead of the deadline.
Big picture: Even with the White House’s clarification, the proclamation could have a big impact on trade talks with India. The Indian government has already spoken out against the new fee, saying it will cause disruption for Indian families.—BC
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