UAE: H-1B visa holders rush back to US after Trump announces $100,000 fee
After the US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a $100,000 visa fee for non-immigrant visas, some H-1B visa holders are preponing their return flights to the US.
Travel agents in the UAE said there was a “panic” among H-1B visa holders on Saturday after the new visa fee was announced by Trump and then US firms requested the visa holders not to travel out of the country, resulting in people living abroad rushing back to the US.
The rush has slowed down after a US official clarified that the new fee rule was applicable to new applicants and not to existing visa holders and renewals, however people are still making arrangements to return to the US, said travel agents. The visa holders fear that the Trump administration can change the rules any time, they said, and hence, are preponing their return flights to the US.
Avinash Adnani, managing director of Neo Travels and Tourism, said there was huge demand from students and professionals wanting to fly to the US on Saturday after the new fee announcement for H-1B visa.
“All US-bound flights were full on Saturday as Emirates and Etihad Airways offer very good connectivity for passengers travelling from the Indian subcontinent to the US. More people preferred to travel to the US via Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport as passengers can fast track their US immigration process because of the pre-clearance facility at the airport,” Adnani said on Sunday.
A significant number of Indian and Pakistani diaspora in the US, Europe and other Western countries fly with UAE carriers due to the strong connectivity.
“The situation is good today after the US clarified that this new fee is only for new applicants and not for existing visa holders. But people are still preponing their return to the US and want to go back in the next few days as they have received message from the companies where they work, asking them to stay back in the US,” he said
Reena Philip, general manager (Airtravel Enterprises and Tourism) said there was a “panic and uncertainty” among H-1B visa holders following the latest fee announcement by the US government.
“We have students and professionals going from here, but not many. The main concern is in India. There is already a challenge of getting a US visa appointment here as people have to wait for a year, and now this is an additional concern for the people who want to fly to the US,” she added.
Flights full, airfares up
Videos shared widely on social media this weekend show people asking an airline to de-board their flights because of changes to the H-1B visa programme.
Technology companies, including Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple and Google, were among the biggest users of the H-1B visas. At the end of June 2025, Amazon had over 14,300 H-1B visa holders, while Tata Consultancy had over 5,500 people employed under the visa scheme. A similar number of highly-skilled staff have also been employed by the other companies under the programme.
An executive order by the US president said that the programme had been used by some employers to suppress wages and to the disadvantage of US workers.
Avinash Adnani said that flights are already operating at full capacity and the sudden spike in demand could see airfares jump by as much as 20 per cent.
“Bookings are looking very healthy for the next few days as people are bringing forward their travel plans. This is a supply-demand issue, we could see airfares going up by around 15 to 20 per cent for a few days,” he said.
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