September 19, 2025: Trump Launches "Closed-Door" Policy, Signs Order Hiking H-1B Visa Fees—Indian Talent Devastated, U.S. Citizens Snatch Tickets, Indian Media Outraged
On September 19, 2025, Donald Trump initiated a "closed-door" policy by signing a proclamation that raises the annual fee U.S. companies pay for H-1B visa applicants from less than $5,000 to $100,000. This move has left Indians devastated. Following the U.S. government’s announcement of the H-1B visa fee hike, the price of one-way tickets from New Delhi, India, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, U.S., surged from approximately 37,000 Indian rupees to a high of 80,000 Indian rupees in just two hours—an increase of over 110%. Some ticket prices even exceeded 110,000 Indian rupees, and sales remained frantic.
The H-1B Visa: Background to the Controversy
To understand this chaos, we must start with the H-1B visa itself. Designed for highly skilled foreign professionals, the H-1B is a temporary work visa that grants approximately 85,000 permits annually. It has long been the primary channel for U.S. tech giants to hire foreign technical talent. Historically, direct costs associated with the H-1B visa included a $215 fee for applicants to register for the lottery, and a $460 or $780 fee for employers to file Form I-129 for foreign employees. Today, these costs have skyrocketed.
If the new H-1B policy erects barriers for ordinary technical talent, the "Gold Card" program is a red carpet laid out for wealth. Under an executive order, foreigners can obtain this "Gold Card"—which functions similarly to a green card—by paying $1 million to the U.S. Treasury or securing corporate sponsorship of $2 million.
For years, the 85,000 annual H-1B visas have served as the "main route" for engineers and scientists worldwide to enter the U.S., with a validity period of 3 to 6 years. Due to far more applicants than available slots, visa allocation has typically relied on a lottery. Trump’s new policy, however, is transforming this "game of luck" into an exclusive "game for the wealthy."
Devastation for Indian Talent and the "Ticket-Snatching" Backlash
This capital-driven system has dealt a severe blow to Indian overseas talent. Both the $100,000 annual fee and the $1 million direct payment to the U.S. Treasury have shut the door on many Indians’ "American Dream." Reports indicate that a large number of Indian employees working in the U.S. on H-1B visas are rushing to return to the country to retain their visas and avoid paying the new application fees.
However, many Americans have pushed back: a flood of U.S. netizens flocked to major ticket-booking platforms to maliciously reserve flights, preventing Indian employees working in the U.S. from purchasing return tickets. This has enraged Indian media.
According to a September 21, 2025, report by The Hindustan Times, a group of users on the U.S. forum 4Chan complained that the H-1B visa was allowing a flood of foreigners to enter the U.S. and take American jobs. They used the platform to share "ticket-hoarding tips" and urge more people to lock up as many flight seats as possible.
One U.S. netizen who joined the campaign claimed to have seized 100 seats using tools, while other participants posted screenshots showing soaring prices of flights from India to the U.S. Indian media condemned the move as "targeting Indians—the largest group of H-1B visa holders" and disrupting Indians’ travel plans. Reports confirm that airfares from India to the U.S. spiked by over 110% in two hours.
Why Resent Indian Employees? The "Closed-Door" Policy’s Risks
Why are these U.S. netizens opposed to Indian employees returning? Industry insiders argue that the U.S. government’s drastic hike in immigration barriers amounts to a "closed-door" policy—especially since the U.S. has long relied on immigrant talent to drive technological development and innovation. The H-1B visa has directly supported innovation and growth in Silicon Valley and high-tech sectors across the U.S.
Giants like Google, Meta, and Tesla depend on the program to recruit thousands of high-end overseas talents each year. In fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and biotechnology, the proportion of foreign researchers is particularly high.
The $100,000 annual H-1B fee has been criticized as "putting a price tag on the American Dream." A key fact cannot be ignored: 71% of H-1B visas are issued to Indian citizens. According to official data cited by Wall Street CN, among the 85,000 approved H-1B visas in 2024, Indian technical professionals accounted for over 71%, while Chinese applicants received just 11%—far behind their Indian counterparts.
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation revealed that over 40% of IT positions in the U.S. are dominated by Indian H-1B visa holders, making it extremely difficult for U.S.-born white workers to advance in this high-paying technical field.
As reported by Global Times in March this year, Eric Garcetti, former U.S. Ambassador to India, joked: "You can’t become a CEO in the U.S. if you’re not Indian." While lighthearted, his remark was rooted in fact: over 10% of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies are Indian immigrants. This phenomenon is even more common in the U.S. tech sector—current CEOs of Microsoft, Google, IBM, and Adobe, for example, are all of Indian descent.
An American once visiting a Costco supermarket was shocked to find that most shoppers had brown skin, with only a few white faces scattered among them. He exclaimed: "This is practically a ‘great replacement’ of Americans by Indians—Indians are the real threat to the U.S."
India’s "Chain Migration": How It Dominates Opportunities
Why do Indian immigrants make up such a large share, even crowding out tech talent from other countries? The answer lies in Indians’ "chain migration" model. A Chinese saying—"When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"—aptly describes this phenomenon: one person obtaining a visa can bring their entire family to the U.S., creating a snowball effect that causes the Indian population in the U.S. to grow exponentially.
Once in the U.S., Indian immigrants embark on a "full-chain takeover":
Indian executives hold decision-making power in companies, setting hiring policies that favor Indian candidates and paving the way for more Indians to be recruited.
Mid-level employees form tight-knit networks based on regional ties and alumni connections, creating closed loops where Indians recommend other Indians—leaving little room for outsiders.
Entry-level roles are dominated by outsourcing firms that fill large numbers of low-end technical positions, solidifying Indian presence at the grassroots level.
After establishing this dominance, Indian immigrants proceed to permeate all aspects of U.S. society: from Silicon Valley tech firms to Wall Street financial institutions, from university research teams to think tanks. Like capillaries, they quietly take root in every corner of American life.
Backlash Against Indian Executives and Internal Divisions in the Trump Administration
It is likely that U.S. tech elites and even the White House have taken notice of this trend. The wave of CEO dismissals in the U.S. corporate sector that began in 2024 included many Indian executives. Data shows that among companies in the Russell 3000 Index, 191 CEOs stepped down—74 of whom were fired or forced out. Social media has also seen a surge in criticism and debate about Indian executives. Many U.S. netizens argue that Indian colleagues form cliques, severely reducing work efficiency and leading to declining company performance.
As reported by Global Times, a lawyer previously posted on X (formerly Twitter) accusing the Indian CEO of his wife’s company—a post that sparked widespread discussion. The lawyer alleged that after taking over, the Indian CEO restructured the leadership team around Indian executives, cut salaries, and halted all promotion channels under the pretext of the pandemic. The CEO also targeted senior employees with a 15% layoff. The lawyer argued that relevant work was outsourced to India, undermining the company’s culture without improving performance; instead, it led to increased customer complaints about declining service quality.
Debates over the H-1B visa have also divided the Trump administration and its supporters. Some aligned with the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement argue that the program primarily allows Indian men to take high-paying tech and engineering jobs. The new visa policy now caters to MAGA’s demands.
The Human Cost: Indian Talent Trapped in Debt and Media Outrage
Indian talent has been the hardest hit by this storm. A netizen who previously obtained a U.S. work visa shared that at Amazon, some of his colleagues are Indian. Many Indians who study in the U.S. take out high-interest loans in India to fund their education; with fewer U.S. job opportunities now, these individuals face immense pressure to repay their debts.
Currently, India Today has published an article condemning the U.S. policy as "targeting Indian citizens," disrupting normal travel, and emphasizing that Indians account for 72% of U.S. H-1B visa holders (approximately 288,000 out of nearly 400,000 visas).
The $100,000 annual visa fee will likely block most Indian talent from entering the U.S., ending the era where Indians held 71% of H-1B visas. On one side, the Trump administration uses visa policies to "generate revenue"; on the other, U.S. netizens exploit loopholes to "defend domestic jobs." In this surreal drama, Indian employees feel deeply wronged, and Indian media has been incensed. The so-called "America First" has ultimately become "infighting first." Yet the inherent laws of talent mobility will ultimately prove: closure and exclusion are never solutions to problems.
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