‘Now they can’t leave America’: US techie says Trump’s $100K H-1B rule traps Indians for years

A U.S. tech worker’s post on X lays bare the cost of the Trump administration’s new H-1B visa policy, warning that thousands of skilled immigrants — especially Indian software engineers — may now be effectively “locked inside” America, unable to visit family or leave the country without risking permanent exile.

“I have worked with countless H-1Bs in software for the past 15+ years. They ALL take month-long vacations back to India every summer. Now they can't leave America or else they can't get back in,” the user wrote.

The post refers to a $100,000 annual H-1B visa fee, effective September 21, that must be paid by employers for each non-citizen seeking entry or re-entry into the United States. In practice, the rule makes it cost-prohibitive for most companies to sponsor re-entry for all but the most senior or “indispensable” employees.

The result: mid-level and junior H-1B workers may be trapped in the U.S. for years, unable to visit families abroad — or worse, forced into “self-deportation” by leaving and not being able to return.

“The point of all these loopholes and ambiguities is to turn the process into the punishment,” the post continues. “Even if you already have [an H-1B], it’s very painful to continue being an underpaid serf.”

Legal analysts say the policy introduces a chilling “locked-in” effect. Any international travel becomes a career and immigration risk — one that could lead to job loss or visa invalidation, with employers unlikely to foot the $100K bill more than once.

The situation is further worsened by growing resistance from American IT worker coalitions, who are pushing for rejection of H-1B green card (PERM) applications. “They can never get a green card,” the post says bluntly.

While the White House insists the goal is to reduce “overuse” and “dependency” on foreign labor, critics argue the real impact is the erosion of basic mobility and family life for legal immigrant workers — many of whom have spent years building lives in the U.S.