The steep hike in H1B visa fees at $100,000 is driving a surge in last-minute travel bookings to the US.
Travel platforms like MakeMyTrip are witnessing a noticeable uptick as Indian professionals and students rush to secure their trips before the higher costs add to their relocation and work plans.
There has been a notable increase in last-minute bookings to the USA since this morning, a MakeMyTrip spokesperson told Moneycontrol. "This increase in bookings for same-day or next-day travel is atypical for a long-haul segment."
Even Flipkart-owned Cleartrip saw higher demand after the announcement of the H1B visa fees hike. "We are closely monitoring the H1-B development and understanding it's short and long term implications. From bookings point of view, we are seeing a substantial increase in demand for bookings to the US," said Manjari Singhal, Chief Growth and Business Officer, Cleartrip.
How will this impact travel from India to the US?
The sudden spike in H1B visa fees will result in immediate disruption to short-term travel patterns and a likely softening of medium-term US-bound travel from India, driven by employer advisories, and corporate travel freezes, said Dr Vandana Singh, Chairperson, Aviation Cargo, Federation of Aviation Industry in India.
The proclamation restricts entry of H-1B non-immigrants unless a new fee requirement is met, and major employers have already advised employees to avoid travel or return to the US before the rule takes effect.
She added that Indian nationals are the largest single group of H-1B beneficiaries. "Changes in the H1 B visa fees will disproportionately affect travel flows tied to work and short personal trips timed around work assignments like vacations or family visits. Expect more caution from employers and fewer discretionary HR-approved international trips until legal clarity emerges."
Several large firms including Amazon, Microsoft, and JPMorgan have advised employees to return to the US and this can create localized booking surges and airline seat pressure, Singh said.
How many Indians holding H1B visa travel between India and the US?
The H-1B population is large. There were roughly 400,000 approvals in 2024 across new and renewal petitions and Indians accounted for about 70–71 percent of beneficiaries in recent reporting. So, a very large cohort of Indian nationals travel periodically between the two countries for family and personal travel, Singh said.
She added that late summer and early autumn between August to September traditionally see significant return travel for family reasons and end-of-summer trips which makes the current period critical for travel.
"The U.S. Mission to India and consular statistics show very high visa throughput in recent years (record non-immigrant visa issuances in India in 2023–24). So, even a modest percent of that cohort moving urgently will strain flights and immigration systems."
Will there be both a surge and drop in travel due to the visa fee hike?
Singh said that there will be a surge as the current H-1B holders outside the US will rush to return before the deadline hence, corporate travel desks will be overloaded.
She added that there will be a drop too as companies will likely restrict future travel and new visa filings, given the cost and operational uncertainty, leading to a medium-term decline in US-bound leisure or business trips from this segment.
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