Ripple effects after $100,000 H-1B fee

Washington's sudden plan to hike fee on new H-IB visas has sent tremors across sectors — sparking travel disruption, raising fears of reverse migration, forcing global capability centres to up their game, and exposing IT stocks to fresh volatility

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‘SHINE JACOB, SHIVANI SHINDE & AJINKYA KAWALE Mumbai/Chennai, 21 September A weekend of panic and disbelief swept through thousands of Indian technology professionals on H-1B visas after the United States abruptly announced a steep new visa fee through a Presidential proclamation late on Friday.

For Arun Kumar (name changed), a techie from south Tamil Nadu, the past 30 hours have been a whirlwind of stress and frantic search for a flight ticket to the US.

Kumar works in Michigan for a global giant for almost 15 years on an H-1B visa. He had returned to Tamil Nadu for a two-week visit and was scheduled to fly back on October 3. Then came what he calls the “Donald Trump shocker”. “I had just about 30 hours left in hand. A journey from my hometown to Chennai itself takes at least eight hours. Immediately, I checked for tickets for a direct flight, but prices had shot up to nearly $2,000 against my original booking of $600. And with the panic, tickets quickly became unavailable,” he recalls.