How Trump’s H-1B Visa Rule Made Me Spend $8,000 to Return to the US

A sudden increase in the application fee for skilled worker visas has led to urgent travel and unexpected expenses for foreign professionals trying to return to the United States before the new rule takes effect.

Rohan Mehta, a software engineer who has lived in the US for over ten years, was visiting family in Nagpur, India, when news of the policy change reached him. He cut his trip short and spent more than $8,000 (£5,900) on multiple last-minute flight bookings to ensure he could re-enter the US before the Sunday deadline.

“I booked multiple options because most were cutting it very close,” Mehta said from a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York. “Even if there was a slight delay, I’d have missed the deadline.”

The change follows an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump last Friday, introducing a $100,000 fee for new applicants to the H-1B skilled worker visa programme. The order prompted widespread concern among visa holders, immigration lawyers, and employers due to a lack of clarity about whom the rule would affect.

Although the White House later confirmed that the new fee would apply only to first-time applicants and not to existing visa holders or renewals, the clarification came after many had already made costly decisions based on the initial announcement.

The H-1B visa allows US companies to hire foreign workers in specialised fields such as technology, healthcare, and engineering. Indian nationals receive more than 70% of the 85,000 visas issued each year. The programme plays a key role in staffing major US firms, including Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Tata.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attempted to ease concerns in a post on X, stating that current H-1B visa holders could continue to travel in and out of the US as usual and that the new fee would be a one-time charge for future applicants only.

Despite the clarification, confusion remains among many visa holders and employers. Some, like Mehta, had already changed their travel plans or incurred high expenses to avoid uncertainty.

“I gave the prime of my youth to working for this country, and now I feel like I’m not wanted,” Mehta said. “My daughter has spent her entire life in the US. I’m not sure how I’ll uproot my life from there and start all over in India.”

Other H-1B holders travelling in Europe at the time of the announcement also described scrambling to return to the US amid limited information. While legal experts now generally agree that the fee applies only to new applicants, uncertainty remains about how employers will react and whether further changes may follow.