India warns of ‘humanitarian consequences’ as Trump’s new H-1B visa guidelines spark panic | EUROtoday

India warned of “humanitarian consequences” after Donald Trump all of a sudden imposed a $100,000 cost on the H-1B visa, a programme closely relied upon by Indian employees in America’s tech sector.

In an announcement on Saturday, the Indian overseas ministry mentioned New Delhi hoped the disruption brought on by the president’s choice could possibly be “addressed suitably” by the authorities within the US, including that it was finding out the complete implications of the coverage.

The proclamation, which got here into impact on Sunday, sparked chaos for 1000’s of Indian professionals and their households who feared they might be unable to return to the US.

At the San Francisco worldwide airport, the place a number of Indian passengers on an Emirates flight disembarked simply minutes earlier than take-off, fearing they won’t be allowed to return in the event that they travelled out of the US. The flight was delayed for over three hours because of the sudden exits, in response to Indian media.

Many H-1B holders shared tales on-line of speeding again to America, some simply hours after touchdown overseas, fearing they might be topic to the brand new payment.

According to the Indian Expressthere was a big enhance in last-minute flight bookings from India as H-1B visa holders scrambled to get again to the US earlier than the order went into impact at 12:01 am japanese time on September 21.

The panic unfold after tech corporations reminiscent of Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet warned their workers on H1-B visas to remain within the US or get again rapidly.

The White House later clarified that the brand new payment utilized solely to recent functions, not present visas or renewals.

The clarification from the White House got here a day after US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick mentioned the visa payment could be paid yearly, and would apply to folks in search of new visas in addition to renewals.

Indians account for over 70 per cent of all H-1B visa holders. Last yr alone, 285,000 of the virtually 400,000 H-1B visas went to Indians – in contrast with simply 12 per cent to Chinese nationals.

In Indian cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune, the place IT parks depend upon the US work visa route, households described panic as rumours unfold that these travelling again to India could be stranded.

The Indian embassy in Washington even established an emergency helpline for residents dealing with difficulties.

Kathleen Campbell Walker, an immigration lawyer in Texas, mentioned in a LinkedIn submit that the coverage “inserts total chaos in the existing H-1B process with basically a day’s notice”.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services later launched steerage confirming the payment didn’t apply to anybody with a sound visa or an software already filed.

Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy urged Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to deal with the difficulty on a “war footing”, warning that the struggling of IT employees from his southern state in America could be “unimaginable”.

Opposition politicians accused Mr Trump of concentrating on Indians particularly. Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh advised ANI information company: “The way they treat Indians shows they don’t want to see PM Modi or Indians at all.”

The US Chamber of Commerce has additionally voiced alarm, saying it was “concerned about the impact on employees, their families and employers”. It added that discussions with the administration have been underway.

The H-1B scheme permits expert employees – primarily scientists, engineers and laptop programmers – to work within the US for as much as six years. Critics in Washington, together with Mr Trump, declare it’s exploited by outsourcing companies, significantly in India, to undercut jobs for Americans. The president described the system as a “national security threat” when asserting the change.

The new payment, styled as a one-time cost to accompany every petition, might deter smaller companies from hiring overseas specialists. It additionally dangers straining India-US relations even additional amid an ongoing row over tariffs.

Analysts warn of penalties for America’s personal financial system. India provides the majority of the worldwide IT outsourcing workforce, and sudden restrictions might disrupt all the things from software program improvement to banking companies.