'Fast And Furious': H-1B Workers Abroad Race To US Amid Chaos Over Order

Numerous Indian nationals at San Francisco airport reported cutting their vacations short amid the sudden visa policy change.

Chaos, anxiety, and frustration spread widely as Indian and Chinese workers on H-1B visas were compelled to abandon their travel plans and hurriedly return to the United States following President Donald Trump's announcement of new visa fees, part of his extensive immigration reform agenda.

Technology companies and financial institutions dispatched urgent communications to their employees, instructing them to return before the critical deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday (4:01 am GMT), while advising them against leaving the country.

A White House representative clarified on Saturday that the executive order would affect only new applicants rather than current visa holders or those seeking to renew their visas, addressing some of the widespread confusion regarding who would be impacted by the new regulations.

However, Trump's proclamation the previous day had already triggered significant concerns throughout Silicon Valley.

URGENT RETURN TO UNITED STATES

Concerned they might be denied re-entry after the new policy implementation, multiple Indian nationals at San Francisco airport explained they prematurely ended their vacations.

"We faced a difficult choice between family obligations and maintaining our status here," explained an engineer employed at a major technology company whose spouse had boarded an Emirates flight from San Francisco to Dubai scheduled for departure at 5:05 p.m. local time (12:05 a.m. GMT) on Friday.

The flight experienced a delay exceeding three hours when several Indian passengers, upon receiving news about the order or communications from their employers, demanded to disembark, according to the individual who requested anonymity. Eventually, at least five passengers were permitted to leave the aircraft.

A recording of the incident circulated across social media platforms, showing several individuals exiting the plane. Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the footage.

The engineer's wife, also an H-1B visa holder, opted to travel to India to attend to her ill mother. "It's deeply unfortunate. We've established our lives here," he told Reuters.

On the widely-used Chinese social media platform Rednote, H-1B visa holders shared their experiences of having to hastily return to the United States—in some instances merely hours after arriving in China or other international destinations.

Some compared their current panic to their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they urgently flew back to the U.S. before travel restrictions were enacted.

"I'm experiencing a mixture of disappointment, sadness, and frustration," wrote one woman in a post under the username "Emily's Life in NY."

She described boarding a United Airlines flight from New York to Paris that had begun taxiing, but after discussions with airline staff, the captain agreed to return to the gate allowing her to disembark.

Feeling what she characterized to Reuters as "insignificant" and "shaken," she canceled her planned French vacation, abandoning arrangements with friends, including some traveling from China, after receiving correspondence from her company's legal team instructing employees abroad to return to the United States.

Organizations including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Goldman Sachs were among those that distributed urgent emails to their employees containing travel advisories.

TRUMP'S POLICY REVERSAL ON H-1B

Since assuming office in January, Trump has initiated a comprehensive immigration crackdown, including measures to restrict certain forms of legal immigration.

This initiative to restructure the H-1B visa program represents his administration's most significant effort thus far to reform temporary employment visas and underscores what critics have described as a protectionist agenda.

This marks a reversal from Trump's previous position when he aligned with former ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a public disagreement regarding H-1B visas, expressing full support for the foreign tech worker program despite opposition from some of his supporters.

Trump administration officials argue that the visa program enables companies to depress wages, and limiting it creates more employment opportunities for American technology workers. Proponents of the program contend that it brings highly skilled professionals essential for addressing talent shortages and maintaining competitive advantages.

In the aftermath of Trump's proclamation, social media platforms were inundated with discussions about the scope of the order and dismay at what many perceived as a policy diminishing America's appeal as a desirable workplace destination.

An anonymous Rednote user described their life as that of an "H-1B slave." This individual abbreviated a Tokyo vacation to rush back to the United States, describing it as "a real-life 'Fast & Furious' return to the US," referencing the popular Hollywood franchise about street racing.

Trump's H-1B proclamation stated: "Some employers, using practices now widely adopted by entire sectors, have abused the H-1B statute and its regulations to artificially suppress wages, resulting in a disadvantageous labor market for American citizens."

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, could exempt petitioners from the fee at her discretion, according to the proclamation.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated on Friday that companies would need to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas.

However, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt clarified in a social media post on Saturday that this was not an annual fee but rather a one-time payment applicable to each petition.

A Nvidia engineer who has resided in the United States for a decade told Reuters at San Francisco airport that he had been vacationing in Japan with his wife and infant when he hurriedly rescheduled his return flight after learning about the new policy.

"It feels surreal," he remarked. "Everything is changing in an instant."