Rohan Mehta* spent more than $8,000 (£5,900) on last-minute flights to return to the United States, fearing a new visa fee could bar his re-entry.
The software professional, who has lived in the US with his family for 11 years, had been in Nagpur, India, for a memorial marking his father’s death. But on 20 September, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 (£74,000) fee on skilled worker visa applicants, he scrambled to cut his trip short.
Immigration lawyers and US-based employers advised H-1B visa holders abroad to return before the order took effect on Sunday. Though the White House later clarified that the fee—more than 60 times the current charge—would not apply to current visa holders and would be a one-time cost, the correction came too late for some.
“I booked multiple options because most were cutting it very close,” Mehta said aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York’s JFK Airport. “Even if there was a slight delay, I’d have missed the deadline.”
Workers from India account for more than 70% of the 85,000 H-1B visas issued annually. The abrupt announcement left many scrambling, with some expressing frustration over the stress and expense.
“I’m regretting the choices I’ve made in life,” Mehta said. “I gave the prime of my youth to working for this country and now I feel like I’m not wanted.”
The White House has said the new fee will only apply to new visa applications, not renewals or existing holders. But the episode has raised fresh concerns among skilled foreign workers about policy unpredictability and its impact on families who have built their lives in the US.
*Name changed to protect identity.
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