It appears that Indian H-1B visa holders are rushing back in time to make it to American shores before the new H-1B visa rules come into effect.
A MakeMyTrip spokesperson has confirmed a “notable increase” in last-minute bookings to the US since today morning. “This increase in bookings for same-day or next-day travel is atypical for a long-haul segment,” the spokesperson told Moneycontrol.
On Google Trends, searches for “US flight” from India seem to have also spiked today after the news of the new visa rules broke.
Earlier today, the US administration had announced that each H-1B visa would incur an annual fee of $100,000 starting 12:01 am on 21st September. Following this order, several top US companies including Microsoft, JP Morgan and Amazon had asked H-1B employees to not leave the country until there was more clarity on the enforcement of the new rules, and even told employees who were not in the US to return to the US immediately. This appears to have prompted a surge in travel bookings from India to the US for today, with H-1B visa holders hoping to make it back to the US before the new rules come into effect starting 21st September.
And while many will make it to the US in time, this experience will likely leave a bad taste in the mouth of most professionals. To have rules impacting your stay and life in a different country to be changed arbitrarily with little notice will cause many to rethink their desire to work in the US, and cause some to want to come back to India. And once these workers are back home, they might end up contributing to the success of their home country, and help build India’s technical ecosystem that rivals the US’s in the years to come.