emirates-flight-delayed-as-indians-de-board-over-h-1b-fear

There was panic on the India-bound Emirates flight after US President Donald Trump on Friday announced $1,00,000 application fee for the H-1B worker visa. At San Francisco International Airport, several Indian passengers allegedly got off from an Emirates flight right before take-off, resulting in a three-hour delay. 

One of the passengers on board the Emirates flight shared visuals from on social media, showing people getting off the plane amid fear of not being able to return to the US.

In one of the videos, passengers are seen standing in the aisles while others can be seen scrolling through their phones, some looking around, clueless about whether and when the flight will take off. In another video, the captain can be heard asking passengers to get off the plane if they wish to, addressing the latest "unprecedented" circumstances.

"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," the captain said.

 

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Sharing the video, the Instagram user described the scene as chaotic and how panic gripped the 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," the user wrote.

They claimed to be stuck at the same spot for over three hours, "waiting for the flight to depart".

While announcing a change in the H-1B visa fee, President Trump said the programme was created 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 Order Employees To Return To US Within 24 Hours

Following President Trump's crackdown on immigrants, major companies such as Meta and Microsoft urged their H-1B visa holders not to leave the US for at least 14 days. According to internal emails accessed by media, the companies urged their employees, who are currently residing outside the US, to return to the country within 24 hours to avoid denial of re-entry.

Meta advised its H-1B visa and H4 status holders to stay in the US for at least two weeks, "till practical applications" are understood, and asked those currently residing outside to consider returning within 24 hours. Microsoft, on the other hand, "strongly" asked its employees in the US to stay put to avoid denial of re-entry. It also asked the workers outside the country to "do best to return".

Trump Administration Clarifies Its H-1B Visa Fee Hike

A day after announcing an exorbitant hike in H-1B visa fee, the White House issued a major clarification to its new H-1B visa policy that had rattled the tech industry, saying a $100,000 fee will 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 said in a social media post.