Indians Deboard Emirates Plane After Trump's H-1B Fee Order, Flight Delayed By 3 Hours

Indians Disembark Emirates Flight Following Trump's H-1B Fee Announcement, Causing 3-Hour Delay

Passengers can be observed standing in the aircraft aisles.

Chaos erupted on an India-bound Emirates flight after US President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 application fee for H-1B worker visas on Friday. At San Francisco International Airport, numerous Indian passengers reportedly exited an Emirates aircraft just before departure, resulting in a three-hour delay.

A passenger aboard the Emirates flight shared footage on social media depicting people leaving the plane due to concerns about being unable to return to the United States.

One video shows passengers standing in the aisles while others check their phones, some appearing confused about the flight's departure status.

In another recording, the captain can be heard addressing passengers about the "unprecedented" situation, stating: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's the captain speaking. Due to the current circumstances, obviously, that are unprecedented for us here at Emirates, we are aware that a number of passengers do not wish to travel with us, and that's perfectly fine. All we ask is that if you wish to offload yourself, you do so."

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The Instagram user who shared the video described the scene as chaotic, detailing how panic spread among Indian passengers.

"It was complete chaos for Emirates passengers at San Francisco Airport this Friday morning. President Trump signed an order affecting both new and existing H1B visa holders, creating panic among many-particularly Indian passengers-who even chose to leave the aircraft," wrote the user.

They reported being stationary for over three hours, "waiting for the flight to depart".

When announcing the H-1B visa fee change, President Trump stated that the program was established to bring "temporary workers into the US to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour."

Microsoft, Meta Instruct Employees To Return To US Within 24 Hours

Following President Trump's immigration crackdown, major corporations including Meta and Microsoft urged their H-1B visa holders to avoid leaving the US for at least 14 days.

According to internal emails obtained by NDTV Profit, these companies advised employees currently outside the US to return within 24 hours to prevent potential re-entry denial.

Meta recommended that H-1B visa and H4 status holders remain in the US for at least two weeks, "till practical applications" are understood, while instructing those abroad to consider returning within 24 hours.

Microsoft "strongly" advised its US-based employees to remain in the country to avoid re-entry issues and requested that workers outside the US "do best to return".

Trump Administration Clarifies H-1B Visa Fee Increase

One day after announcing a substantial increase in H-1B visa fees, the White House issued an important clarification regarding its new H-1B visa policy that had disturbed the tech industry, stating that the $100,000 fee would be a "one-time" payment imposed only on new applicants.

"This is NOT an annual fee. It's a one-time fee that applies... only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained in a social media post.