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Relief for Indian H-1B Workers After Initial Panic
Manjunath Gokare, an attorney based in Atlanta, Georgia, who specializes in immigration, said that he has been receiving countless emails, texts and WhatsApp messages and has been responding to those since Friday
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Ishani Duttagupta - Sun, 21, Sep 2025
- 18:28 EDT
- 159
Prompt generated graphics / Chat GPT
The weekend brought some relief for thousands of Indians working on H-1B visas in the US. Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump’s proclamation to restrict entry into the United States for H-1B non-immigrant workers—mandating a $100,000 fee to accompany or supplement new H-1B petitions—caused panic and distress among thousands of Indian IT professionals and leading tech companies.
White House Clarification Eases Fears
However, following clarification from the White House Press Secretary regarding which categories of non-immigrant workers the fee hike would apply to, there was a sense of relief among Indians holding H-1B visas, whether in the US or those travelling to India or other destinations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared some crucial clarifications about President Trump’s proclamation in a social media post on X on Saturday evening, which the US Embassy later shared in India on Sunday.
Firstly, the $100,000 fee is a one-time fee that applies only to the petition. Also, those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the US will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter, and H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the US to the same extent as they usually would; whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by Friday’s proclamation. “This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders. It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle,” the note clarified.
Chaos at Indian Airports Before Clarification
Earlier, there were reports of chaotic scenes of distress at Indian airports with Indian professionals paying premium prices for flights back to the US to beat what was being seen as a deadline of Sunday, September 21.
The proclamation, intended to “curb the use of lower-paid foreign labour”, created significant uncertainty. Immigration lawyers, experts, and HR professionals in the tech industry were unsure about the new travel rules, especially for H-1B visa holders returning to the US from visits to India. There was considerable confusion due to the lack of guidance on the proclamation.
Legal Experts Weigh In
Employees on H-1B visas already inside the US remain unaffected and continue to be safe, and those outside the US holding visas or with approved petitions, too, are not impacted. Besides, petitions for H-1B, which have already been filed, are also exempt from this new fee requirement,” immigration lawyer Poorvi Chothani explains.
She adds that the fee of $100,000 only applies to new petitions submitted on or after September 21, 2025. “These clarifications bring relief following yesterday’s alarming reports that triggered panic. Since the proclamation falls under Section 212(f), effectively making it a travel restriction, the initial reaction saw hundreds of employees rushing back to the US, incurring significant travel expenses to return before the proclamation took effect,” she added.
Breathing Room for Immigration Lawyers
Manjunath Gokare, an attorney based in Atlanta, Georgia, who specialises in immigration, said that he has been receiving countless emails, texts and WhatsApp messages and has been responding to those since Friday. He believes that, with the confirmation that the financial year 2026, with an H-1B start date of October 1, 2025, is not affected, there is more breathing room for immigration lawyers to help their clients.
“Everyone outside the US with a visa can travel back to the country. The new rule applies from next year for the FY2027 cycle with new H-1Bs with a start date of October 1, 2026,” he says. Gokare adds that numerous efforts are underway by lawyers in the US to get an injunction from a federal court to stop the implementation of the proclamation.
“When implemented, there will be a lot of confusion and training issues at the airports over the new rules, and this could affect the travel plans of several Indians on H-1B visas,” he adds.
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