On a tense Friday at San Francisco International Airport, travelers faced unprecedented disruption following President Donald Trump’s surprising proclamation that H-1B visa applicants must now pay a $100,000 fee. The announcement sent waves of confusion and anxiety through passengers, leading to dramatic scenes of people demanding to leave an international Emirates flight bound for Dubai.
The Emirates flight, scheduled to depart shortly after 5 p.m., was delayed by three hours as uncertainty lingered on how this new rule would affect current H-1B visa holders. Some passengers aboard the plane opted to disembark rather than risk traveling under such unclear circumstances. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later attempted to quell fears by confirming that current H-1B visa holders could still leave and re-enter the U.S. as they normally would, despite the proclamation.
The chaos onboard was captured in an Instagram video showing passengers rising from their seats and discussing their options amid an announcement from the Emirates pilot letting them know it was acceptable to leave the plane. This rare moment of unrest highlights the deep unease felt by those directly impacted by the policy change. One engineer from a major tech company shared that while at least five people chose to get off the flight, his own wife, an H-1B visa holder, pressed on to India to care for her ailing mother, showcasing the difficult personal decisions this new fee has forced on many.
The H-1B visa program has long been a critical pathway for highly skilled foreign workers, particularly in computer-related fields, where American companies face significant recruitment challenges. According to the Pew Research Center, since 2012, roughly 60 percent of all H-1B visas have been awarded to tech professionals. The visa program is vital not only for companies but for thousands of individuals and families who have built their lives around opportunities in the U.S.
Despite the new proclamation, the White House clarified that the $100,000 fee is a one-time charge applied only to new visa petitions. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick initially described the fee as annual, though subsequent clarifications portrayed it as a singular charge. This detail, however, has done little to ease the broader turmoil and confusion spreading among visa holders.
The impact was felt in airports well beyond San Francisco. Multiple individuals, caught unprepared by the news, scrambled to return to the U.S. Some passengers demanded to disembark from flights as far away as New York and Paris. One woman on a flight to Paris was allowed off mid-taxi after expressing urgent concerns, lamenting her mix of disappointment, sadness, and frustration.
In Silicon Valley and Seattle, where many H-1B visa holders are based, the news arrived like a shockwave. A semiconductor employee in Silicon Valley learned of the fee immediately after landing in China and was urged by her manager to return to the U.S. swiftly. Similarly, Zoey, a Microsoft software developer stranded in China, booked a flight back on just four hours’ notice upon hearing the news.
This sudden proclamation has opened a new chapter of uncertainty for those on H-1B visas, a pivotal part of America’s workforce landscape. While the government seeks to affirm the rights of current visa holders to travel normally, the ripple effects of the announcement underscore the vulnerability and anxiety among foreign professionals caught in the middle of shifting immigration policies.
