Government directs Indian missions to assist nationals returning to US

The government has instructed all Indian missions and posts to provide maximum assistance to Indian nationals travelling back to the United States within the next 24 hours, according to sources.

UP Congress chief Ajay Rai called Donald Trump's H1B visa move ‘an insult to Indians’.

"Trump is continuously trying to suppress the countrymen... This is the most sorrowful thing for the country that America has put India in the list of drug-producing countries... This is an insult to all countrymen," Rai told ANI.

Massive chaos unfolded after US President Donald Trump on Friday announced the sudden rise in fee for H-1B visas to $100,000 (Rs 88 lakh) and said that the new rules will come into effect from September 21, 2025 - giving people a really tight window to act.

Airports saw chaotic scenes as the news spread with several people getting off from planes in the US as soon as they got to know of the Trump administration's decision. Several Indians were on their way home for the festive season when the announcement was made.

Former diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar has described Donald Trump’s new H-1B visa policy as a significant setback, both for Indian professionals and the American technology sector.

“This is definitely a setback for all H1B holders, not just new applicants but also those already there. They will have to pay $100,000 annually, roughly ₹88 lakhs in India. This is a major setback, especially for Indians freshly graduating from US universities or starting their careers. It will be very difficult for them to get that sort of money. About 71% of H1B visa holders are Indian professionals... It's also a big setback for the American high-tech industry, which employs many Indian professionals. Without them, it will be very difficult for the US to find its own American workers to fill those high-tech jobs and meet high-tech requirements," Sajjanhar said.

In a major development in the US immigration policy, President Donald Trump on Friday announced a new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications, which will come into effect from September 21, 2025.

The substantial rise in the fee, that the President announced on Friday, has raised several concerns, and a detailed market analysis shows that it might even surpass the annual salaries of many H-1B visa holders, particularly those in entry-level positions, thus causing a large amount of problems to the common man with the H-1B visa.

Read more

Every few years, the H-1B visa is back in the headlines, either as a saviour of Silicon Valley or a villain stealing American jobs. US President Donald Trump’s latest proclamation, slapping a $100,000 annual fee per H-1B visa, has turned the program into the centre of a fresh storm.

But why would America not quit the fight? Read here

Following the Trump administration’s move to impose a $100,000 H-1B visa fee, Amazon on Saturday issued an advisory to its employees holding H-1B and H-4 visas, urging them to remain in the United States. This guidance comes shortly after Microsoft released a similar notice.

In a note that was reported by Reuters, the company stated, “If you have H-1B status and are in the US, stay in the country for now.”

The advisory also added that Amazon “recommends H-1B and H-4 visa holders to return to the US before 12:00 am EDT Sept 21.”

In 2024, Indians made up 71 per cent of the 3,99,395 recipients of H-1B visas, with China a distant second at 11.7 per cent. India has consistently held the largest share of H-1B visa holders over the years.

With Indians representing more than 70 per cent of this group, any new restrictions are likely to hit the Indian diaspora in the United States particularly hard.

Tech giant Microsoft and financial powerhouse JP Morgan have issued urgent advisories to employees on H-1B and H-4 visas, urging them to return to the United States before President Donald Trump’s new visa fee rules take effect on September 21.

According to an internal email reviewed by Reuters, Microsoft on Saturday advised its visa-holding staff to come back to the US immediately, following Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual surcharge on the H-1B program.

The company also told employees already in the US to remain there. The email read: "H-1B visa holders should stay in the US for the foreseeable future. Also recommend H-4 visa holders remain in the US. Strongly recommend H-1B and H-4 visa holders return to the US tomorrow before the deadline."

"Over the past several years, Indian IT firms have significantly reduced their reliance on the H-1B visa, with filings dropping by over 50%. This shift is a result of our ongoing strategy to hire more locally, invest in automation and enhance our global delivery models. While visa fees may change, the impact on our business will be minimal, as we’ve already adapted to this evolving landscape." -- C.P. Gurnani, Co-founder and Vice Chairman, AIonOS

Indian entrepreneur and Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl on Saturday weighed in on Donald Trump's decision to impose $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications and asked those impacted today to "be positive".

H-1B visas are non-immigrant visas that allow US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and IT. Read More 

The H-1B visa is a temporary US work visa that allows companies to hire foreign professionals with specialised skills. It was created in 1990 for people with a bachelor's degree or higher in fields where jobs are deemed hard to fill, especially science, technology, engineering, and math.

The H-1B visa is a temporary US work visa that allows companies to hire foreign professionals with specialised skills. It was created in 1990 for people with a bachelor's degree or higher in fields where jobs are deemed hard to fill, especially science, technology, engineering, and math. Once granted, the visa ensures equal pay and comparable working conditions to those of their American counterparts.

Ajay Bhutoria, former advisor to ex-US President Joe Biden, stated that the imposition of an annual fee of USD 100,000 on H-1B visas is a "bold step" by the Trump administration to uplift senior citizens.

"This USD 100,000 H-1B fee, effective Sept 21, 2025, is a bold step that could uplift U.S Citizens Senior IT workers and new college grads by reducing reliance on lower-cost foreign labor, ensuring fair wages and opportunities for American talent, while also supporting innovation--though startups may face hiring challenges, so a balanced approach with targeted exemptions is essential to keep our tech edge strong," he said.

"The 100k fee for H1Bs is a very unfortunate policy with a huge negative impact on business, particularly the software/tech industry, as well as US-educated STEM talent who are already struggling due to the negative impact of AI and tariffs. We need to educate about talent shortages and their negative impact, especially on startups and smaller tech companies, making it difficult for them to innovate and compete," he said.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) is currently assessing the impact of the US President Donald Trump’s executive order to impose $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas. This move will have a drastic impact on Indian technology and IT industry and the professionals working in the US. Read more

Microsoft on Saturday asked its H-1B and H-4 visa holder employees to return to the United States by "tomorrow", ahead of the September 21 deadline announced by President Donald Trump after he imposed a $100,000 annual fee on the program, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

"H-1B visa holders should stay in the US for the foreseeable future. Also recommend H-4 visa holders remain in the US. Strongly recommend H-1B and H-4 visa holders return to the US tomorrow before the deadline," parts of the email viewed by Reuters read.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday slammed the Centre after the Trump administration imposed a USD 100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas and said that the move will affect the "brightest minds" from India.

Taking a dig at PM Modi, Gogoi said that his "strategic silence and loud optics" have become a liability for the nation.

Top Indian information technology (IT) services companies are increasingly reducing their reliance on H-1B visas, even as US President Donald Trump raised the visa fee to $100,000 on September 20.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra now have between 20 percent and less than 50 percent dependency on H-1B visas to deploy workforce in North America. Moreover, approved H-1B petitions for the top seven Indian IT firms dropped 56 percent between FY15 and FY23 to 6,700. Companies such as Infosys and TCS now employ over 50 percent local staff in the US, reducing visa reliance.

Large firms have pivoted to local hiring, US delivery centres, subcontracting, and offshore delivery. Ironically, the H-1B programme’s biggest users today are not Indian outsourcing firms but American tech majors. In FY24, the top five US firms together secured nearly 28,000 approvals, with one e-commerce giant alone topping the list at 10,000 approvals in FY2025. Read more

The announcement prompted intense debate on X, where many users highlighted the policy’s potential consequences, particularly for Indian technology professionals who form the majority of H-1B visa holders. India was reported to have accounted for 71 per cent of approved beneficiaries in the last financial year, while China ranked second with 11.7 per cent.

Reactions on the platform were blunt. One user described the development as “Shocking news for Indian techies!” Another commented, “Indians just got nuked.”

Read the full story here

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday said US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas will hurt American innovation and benefit India.

In a post on X, Kant wrote: “Donald Trump’s $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas will choke U.S. innovation, and turbocharge India’s. By slamming the door on global talent, America pushes the next wave of labs, patents, innovation and startups to Bangalore and Hyderabad, Pune and Gurgaon. India’s finest Doctors, engineers, scientists, innovators have an opportunity to contribute to India’s growth & progress towards #ViksitBharat. America’s loss will be India’s gain.” Read more

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with over 5,000 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon, according to federal data.

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Amazon had 10,044 workers using H-1B visas as of June, 2025. Coming in at the second spot was TCS with 5,505 H-1B visas approved.

Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5189), Meta (5123), Apple (4202), Google (4181), Deloitte (2353), Infosys (2004), Wipro (1523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951). (PTI)

The Indian government is assessing the fallout of US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas, a move that could severely disrupt the technology industry and Indian professionals working in the United States, a senior government official told Moneycontrol.

The official, however, stressed that the new costs are likely to weigh more heavily on American technology firms, which rely heavily on Indian professionals for specialised roles. Read here

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order launching the “Gold Card” visa program, which he said would fast-track entry for certain immigrants in exchange for a substantial fee. “They’re going to spend a lot of money to come in. It’s going to raise billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars, which is going to go to reduce taxes, pay off debt, and for other good things,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

The program is designed to attract wealthy individuals and businesses, as well as foreigners with “extraordinary” abilities who seek to contribute to the United States. What is Gold card and Corporate Gold Card?

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order overhauling the H-1B visa program, accusing companies of using it to replace American workers with lower-cost foreign labor. The order cites rising unemployment among U.S. computer science graduates, layoffs linked to H-1B hiring, and potential national security risks. Read the full text of the executive order here

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended Trump's decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications. He stated, “Either the person should be valuable enough or they should head home.”

He added, “The Company needs to decide. Do they want? Is the person valuable enough to have a hundred thousand dollars a year payment to the government, or should they head home, and they should go higher in America?” Read the full story here

US President Trump slapped a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa but Section 1(c) in the proclamation is a pressure valve. It means the new visa wall is not absolute. Instead, it sets up a bargaining game: pay $100,000, or convince DHS that your role, company or industry is too important to America’s national interest to be blocked. Read here

Indian IT stocks, with significant exposure to the US market, came under heavy pressure after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Friday imposing a staggering $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas.

Infosys stocks fell by as much as 4.5 per cent on Friday, September 19, after reports surfaced that US President Donald Trump plans to sign an order requiring a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications. Other tech companies also saw a decline in Friday's trade. Cognizant Technology’s share price went down by 4.3%, while Accenture’s shares slipped 1.3% and Wipro slid 3.4%. Read more

On Sept 19, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that slaps a $100,000 payment requirement onto most H-1B visa petitions from outside the US.

Prospective or travelling H-1Bs outside the US are the immediate targets. Without the $100,000 payment tied to the petition, visas will be refused and entry denied after the effective date. If you’re already inside the US in valid H-1B status, the proclamation doesn’t target you directly. Let’s unpack what this means for India, for US firms, for every person caught in between.

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that will require a $100,000 annual visa fee for highly-skilled foreign workers and rolled out a $1 million “gold card” visa as a pathway to US citizenship for wealthy individuals, moves that face near-certain legal challenges amid widespread criticism.