Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee sparks India-US airfare surge, travel chaos for workers
The airfares between India and US cities have increased for flights departing on Saturday, following the Trump administration’s directive to charge $100,000 for H-1B worker visas starting at midnight on September 21.
- Sep 20, 2025,
- Updated Sep 20, 2025 4:06 PM IST
US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee for H-1B worker visas, starting midnight on September 21, has resulted in a sharp increase in airfare for flights from India to the US.
The airfares between India and US cities have increased for flights departing on Saturday, following the Trump administration’s directive to charge $100,000 for H-1B worker visas starting at midnight on September 21.
Several companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, have advised their H-1B employees travelling abroad to return to the US by midnight September 21. Others have been asked to suspend their travel out of the US. Of the total H-1B visas issued by the US, Indians are the largest beneficiaries, accounting for 71% in 2024.
The prices of flights between Indian cities and the US have jumped manifold, making it nearly impossible for any H-1B holder visiting India to make it to the US within the Trump administration deadline. The earliest arrival in the US from India is an Air India flight taking 19:55 hours between Delhi and JF Kennedy, New York, with one stop in Mumbai. The flight departing on Saturday costs around Rs 1.18 lakh for economy but will reach hours beyond Sunday midnight, making it almost impossible to make it to the US from India.
The fares between India and the US for September 21 are back in the range of an average Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000 on both domestic and international carriers, as reflected on online booking platforms of various airlines and other booking platforms.
There have been reports that many H-1B visa holders deboarded flights at US airports and aborted foreign travel plans after the Trump administration signed the order early Saturday.
According to a report citing USCIS data, TCS accounted for over 5,505 H-1B visas granted for fiscal year 2025 (Oct 2024–September 2025), followed by Cognizant (3,700), Infosys (2,004), LTIMindtree (1,807) and HCL Tech (1,728). US firm Amazon accounted for over 10,000 beneficiaries, followed by Microsoft and Meta, both of which received H-1B visa approval for over 5,100 beneficiaries.
“The H-1B non-immigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour,” said the White House.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee for H-1B worker visas, starting midnight on September 21, has resulted in a sharp increase in airfare for flights from India to the US.
The airfares between India and US cities have increased for flights departing on Saturday, following the Trump administration’s directive to charge $100,000 for H-1B worker visas starting at midnight on September 21.
Several companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, have advised their H-1B employees travelling abroad to return to the US by midnight September 21. Others have been asked to suspend their travel out of the US. Of the total H-1B visas issued by the US, Indians are the largest beneficiaries, accounting for 71% in 2024.
The prices of flights between Indian cities and the US have jumped manifold, making it nearly impossible for any H-1B holder visiting India to make it to the US within the Trump administration deadline. The earliest arrival in the US from India is an Air India flight taking 19:55 hours between Delhi and JF Kennedy, New York, with one stop in Mumbai. The flight departing on Saturday costs around Rs 1.18 lakh for economy but will reach hours beyond Sunday midnight, making it almost impossible to make it to the US from India.
The fares between India and the US for September 21 are back in the range of an average Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000 on both domestic and international carriers, as reflected on online booking platforms of various airlines and other booking platforms.
There have been reports that many H-1B visa holders deboarded flights at US airports and aborted foreign travel plans after the Trump administration signed the order early Saturday.
According to a report citing USCIS data, TCS accounted for over 5,505 H-1B visas granted for fiscal year 2025 (Oct 2024–September 2025), followed by Cognizant (3,700), Infosys (2,004), LTIMindtree (1,807) and HCL Tech (1,728). US firm Amazon accounted for over 10,000 beneficiaries, followed by Microsoft and Meta, both of which received H-1B visa approval for over 5,100 beneficiaries.
“The H-1B non-immigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour,” said the White House.