An Emirates flight departing the United States on Friday was delayed by hours, after widespread confusion over President Trump’s new H-1B visa policy…
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H-1B visa causes confusion on Emirates flight
On Friday, September 19, 2025 Trump announced plans to add a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. This is a type of visa that allows US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.
At first, there was massive confusion about the logistics of this. Would this be an annual fee or a one-time fee? Could those on existing H-1B visas leave the United States and reenter? Perhaps there’s no place this confusion played out more in real time and in public than on Emirates flight EK226 from San Francisco (SFO) to Dubai (DXB).
As you’d expect, the Bay Area has a lot of tech workers on H-1B visas, and Emirates transports a lot of those people on its flights. So on Friday, this all played out in real time, as passengers were boarding the Emirates Airbus A380 bound for Dubai.
There was chaos and confusion in the cabin, as many tech companies were emailing their workers warning them not to travel abroad out of fear of not being able to reenter the country. In a video posted online, you can see the confusion in the cabin, and hear the captain making the following announcement:
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the captain speaking. Due to the current circumstances, obviously they’re unprecedented for us 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…”
The Emirates flight ended up departing over three hours late. While it was initially supposed to depart at 5:05PM, it only departed at 8:20PM. Presumably that was due to endless confusion among passengers, plus the need to offload the bags of those who no longer wished to travel.
This confusion and frustration was all avoidable
We don’t need to debate the merits of the plan to charge $100,000 for an H-1B visa. However, I think we should all be able to agree that if a policy this significant is implemented, it’s important there’s clarity around how it works.
When this was announced, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stood next to Trump and repeated that the new fee was annual. As you’d expect, this would have major implications for existing H-1B workers in the United States.
However, a day later, the White House released a “fact sheet,” clarifying that this isn’t an annual fee, and is a one-time fee that only applies at the time of the petition. Therefore those who are outside the country who already have an H-1B visa wouldn’t be charged this, and would be able to return to the United States.
If this had been clarified in the first place, then all of this chaos would’ve been avoided. So one wonders if Lutnick actually didn’t know the policy, if he repeatedly misspoke, or if the White House backpedaled within a day. Regardless, if that information had been shared from the beginning, that Emirates situation above wouldn’t have happened.
Bottom line
An Emirates Airbus A380 departing San Francisco on Friday was delayed by hours, as passengers scrambled to figure out how Trump’s new H-1B visa policy would impact them. Tech companies largely sent out emails discouraging H-1B holders from traveling abroad, so that’s obviously tricky when you’re onboard a flight departing the United Stats.
In retrospect, the passengers on the flight had little to worry about, since the policy is a one-time fee that doesn’t apply to existing H-1B visas. But unfortunately it took a day for that to be clarified.
What do you make of this Emirates delay situation?
Don’t forget about a great Indian tradition of urinating on the passenger sitting next to you on the airplane. It’s been a lot in the news lately.
It is really frustrating for people trying to get a better life in USA .
There's a lot of people (majority of the voting population, who voted for Trump remember) who want a better life and they find scam visa holders filling the jobs they need to get a better life in the country they built.
Let this unfortunate incident be a reminder of the many many many different ways Trump's misrule is making life miserable for large swathes of the planet.
Vast majority of USA voters want this. Don't delude yourself
Apart from this being a terrible policy, the administration's incompetence on all manner of matters (including this) is an absolute clown show.
Surprised this did not happen to more flights
Biggest abusers are the staffing agencies and body shops. But instead of addressing systemic issues and closing loopholes, he is screwing genuine candidates.
There is a legitimate need for workers in non-tech industries as well as rural hospitals (nurses, doctors, therapists etc). This new requirement is going to screw all those industries where fraud and abuse of the visa is negligible.
Correct approach should have been, fixing the lottery - prioritized by salary / carve...
Biggest abusers are the staffing agencies and body shops. But instead of addressing systemic issues and closing loopholes, he is screwing genuine candidates.
There is a legitimate need for workers in non-tech industries as well as rural hospitals (nurses, doctors, therapists etc). This new requirement is going to screw all those industries where fraud and abuse of the visa is negligible.
Correct approach should have been, fixing the lottery - prioritized by salary / carve out some number for in need industries, stop visa holders from working for third party clients, increase prevailing wage etc. But, instead let’s just screw up the whole program.
Anyone saying, this will bring jobs back, doesn’t know this proclamation is temporary, effective for only 12 months i.e. unless extended and not stuck down by courts, will only impact max of 85k applications due to be filed on 4/1/26.
Agreed that this policy needs careful surgery. On the other hand the levels of H1B fraud are so extreme that delicate pruning won't work. The FAANG (and others) firms and H1B workers should recognize this (Trump policy) as the moderate option. Much more severe reaction will come if this mess isn't fixed soon
It is really sad to see people who are normally factual and well informed people in the comments here are sooooo super misinformed about H1B visas and the workers that utilize them. It is a complete delusion these jobs will land with Americans, for one there is not enough of them to fill these jobs and it is not always about cheap labour. A lot of H1B workers in programming are paid some of the...
It is really sad to see people who are normally factual and well informed people in the comments here are sooooo super misinformed about H1B visas and the workers that utilize them. It is a complete delusion these jobs will land with Americans, for one there is not enough of them to fill these jobs and it is not always about cheap labour. A lot of H1B workers in programming are paid some of the highest salaries in US. As one commenter noted, these jobs will go offshore, especially to India. Most of the FAANG companies already have a large portion of their workforce abroad and backend are usually managed in remote offices.
Just goes to show you how bad the H1B scam situation really is when you have a planeload of people coming in under this visa....
I woke up on Sunday morning to hear the undisputably brilliant secretary of commerce singing the praises of this inspired initiative, guaranteed to increase job opportunities for US workers. I'm sure the tech hubs, including managers in the branch offices of big US companies in Vancouver and Toronto are delighted.
*indisputably
Did you see the photo of Trump signing the order with Lutnick behind him with a sh*t eating grin on his smirking face?
What a true sh*t ass.
On a single Saturday this crazy chaos happened, it was reported that the head of Homeland Security border policy was caught taking $50k in cash from the FBI (but then the investigation was mysteriously dropped), and the President accidentally publicly tweeted a message to his attorney general demanding prosecution of his political opponents. And those are only a few of the things that if the previous President had done them would have resulted in howls...
On a single Saturday this crazy chaos happened, it was reported that the head of Homeland Security border policy was caught taking $50k in cash from the FBI (but then the investigation was mysteriously dropped), and the President accidentally publicly tweeted a message to his attorney general demanding prosecution of his political opponents. And those are only a few of the things that if the previous President had done them would have resulted in howls for impeachment from the right wing media (which, these days, seems to be most of it).
And it's just another Saturday in this hopeless regime. But hey, tax cuts, right?
The moron white folk who support Trump don’t even pay that much tax to cut!
That superior wisdom grace and intellect on full display. We really don't deserve you - you should go home
No argument from me, except you might want to look at the full demographics of who voted for him.
Yes. Overwhelmingly, men, and married women.
Blocs that voted against him: blacks, jews, spinsters, Indians
First they got rid of illegal immigrants. Now they start targeting people who came through the door, many after spending fortunes studying in US of A.
Too many Indians? Just ask the Locals in Northern California & Texas. Their Favorite Hobby is to go to Costco on the weekends with 4-5 Kids & Grand Parents and Hit the Free samples. after walking around for 2 Hrs, they end up buying Milk & Eggs.But where they do spend money is Buying up properties, near where they live and therefore making the properties there too expensive for Locals to Buy. Did I forget...
Too many Indians? Just ask the Locals in Northern California & Texas. Their Favorite Hobby is to go to Costco on the weekends with 4-5 Kids & Grand Parents and Hit the Free samples. after walking around for 2 Hrs, they end up buying Milk & Eggs.But where they do spend money is Buying up properties, near where they live and therefore making the properties there too expensive for Locals to Buy. Did I forget to mention the Husband & wife Both work as software engineers,make 250K, But they have their parents apply for Free Medical Care, Food Stamps and also sign up for Low income Housing. They cover/abuse all the Bases! Wheel Chairs at the Airport ? 100%
You’re a loser white guy who was doing too much meth at a young age to pay attention to basic algebra. Now you’re crying that you deserve to live in the same place as someone who can actually code their way out of a paper bag.
By the way, a midlevel SWE makes $500k. Or more. QQ more you fat whitey.
It's a total joke to continue to pretend that all H1Bs entering the U.S. have special abilities. Majority don't, the system has been used and abused for years. Saying that it needs reform is an understatement. This Trump's action doesn't really cut it.
loss of revenue to EK, LH, AI, BA, CX major carriers all these years emirates enjoyed
revenue from indian IT engineers now it is going to be slow till 2028
You mean not sitting next to Curry Breath 100% of the Time?
To everyone on the right, left, and center who seem to get sexually aroused by arguing about politics in a non-political space: please stop making us unwilling participants in your fetish.
It's remarkable and there's a lot of salutary lessons to be learned here: Indians destroying all good will and favorable impressions USAians held towards them, and so quickly the turnaround.
1st and 2nd gen Indians were quite well received until very recently. Since 2022, I've seen 180° shift in anecdotal opinions towards "Indian origin" people. How did you screw that up so fast? I'm genuinely curious - the vast majority of otherwise ambivalent folks in...
It's remarkable and there's a lot of salutary lessons to be learned here: Indians destroying all good will and favorable impressions USAians held towards them, and so quickly the turnaround.
1st and 2nd gen Indians were quite well received until very recently. Since 2022, I've seen 180° shift in anecdotal opinions towards "Indian origin" people. How did you screw that up so fast? I'm genuinely curious - the vast majority of otherwise ambivalent folks in North America, Japan, Western Europe etc now hold negative to severe dislike of Desi diaspora. The backlash is growing rapidly too.
Quite remarkable really
There is absolutely no source for this assertion. I would instead look at how Tr*mp has destroyed the very positive image he had in India and a close relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with grave consequences for US foreign policy.
Nobody cares (respectfully) about India outside of you and your many cousins. Not a single European or American (or most Asians_Africans) could care less about India beyond they want them to go home and make India great for the first time
I’m sure many people will take issue with your comment but it is a good one. I can’t put my finger on why but I think you are right, which is too bad because no one wins in that situation
Came across 2 YT videos - 1 is from an influencer and another from a reputable journalism firm. Indians (especially the ones that came in last few years) themselves are to be blamed for this. As an Indian living in US, behavior of many other Indians is shameful.
https://youtu.be/1v8_73QCmEY?si=tRJ1Ci0f3H2GXl4S
Indian expatriates and immigrants are highly educated, upwardly social mobile and law abiding. They are not the ones responsible for all the mass shootings in America, nor horrors like the Jan 6'th riots.
Apart from the people trafficking, sex assaults, widespread fraud and organized scams, carnage on the roads with trucker crashes, etc. Indians are pretty well behaved
Yeah and apart from throwing democratically elected government cuz you don’t like their policies, killing people at public places and kids in school for target practice, consuming truck load of drugs and prescription drugs, raping female service members in military, etc. Americans are pretty well behaved
Non-Trumper here who totally agrees with Trump's action on this one.... for a variety of reasons. Between national security implications, motivating young, sharp, American kids to go into engineering (or similar tech professions), my list has about 10 reasons.
Thank God for President Trump
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!11!!
Also, there is no “god.”
Jackson, aka “Jackson Waterston”, banned by many a travel blog due to rampant racism and bigotry.
Piss off incel.
Similar situation was handled much differently in Germany some years ago. All non-Aryan personnel was expelled from jobs and later deported. German government clarified it very efficiently.
They were doing what they were elected to do, what they'd promised to do, the same as Trump. Just giving the people what they want...
Weren't Indians the original Aryans ? With a swastika and other symbols ?
What you mean is it's giving the people who voted for Trump what they want, not what you posted
Are you implying that the conditions in India are akin to a concentration camp?
A good friend was on this flight and it was a complete, chaotic nightmare
Most H1-B petitions are not the best of the best but rather recent grads who had families that could pay for them to get their college degree in the US and then they look for any job that will sponsor their visa so they can stay once they graduate.
If we required students to return to their home country for 2 years after their degree you’d see a massive drop in abuse to the current...
Most H1-B petitions are not the best of the best but rather recent grads who had families that could pay for them to get their college degree in the US and then they look for any job that will sponsor their visa so they can stay once they graduate.
If we required students to return to their home country for 2 years after their degree you’d see a massive drop in abuse to the current H1-B system. Implementing a $100,000 fee does the same… who is going to pay that for a recent grad? Very few. But companies will pay that for the top talent.
What's wrong with college degree holders staying in the US?
Would it make white native-born American adults, the majority of whom do not hold a 4-year college degree, look lazy and stupid (which by and large they are)?
The Indian when faced with critique rises above petty non sequitur name calling and shows recognition that generosity of non-indians enriched their family and economic potential
I think you have this backwards. The US currently attracts some of the smartest students to its top universities. It would be an epic own goal to send back Computer Science undergrads or PhD students from MIT or Berkeley in favor of some random middle managers from consultancy companies.
If anything, this will hasten the off-shoring of jobs. Google already employs 15,000 people in India.
That was my thought as well . Given Zoom and WebEX you really don't need to be in the same place
Wrong! Most H1B petiotioner are people from outside US hired by some consultancy companies. In fact, due to this, a lot of fresh grad lost the ability to work after F1.
As a former professional visa holder i always felt it was disgusting than a country, a company, a boss could prevent me from travelling whenever i wanted
What is mind boggling is the delusion that there is actually enough US born talent and workforce (with the skills, motivation and labor cost of overseas manpower) which could fill in once we deny all those visas. Idiotic and a populist nod that someone who remotely claims...
As a former professional visa holder i always felt it was disgusting than a country, a company, a boss could prevent me from travelling whenever i wanted
What is mind boggling is the delusion that there is actually enough US born talent and workforce (with the skills, motivation and labor cost of overseas manpower) which could fill in once we deny all those visas. Idiotic and a populist nod that someone who remotely claims to have an eye for good business would not make. For Petes sake the guy’s wife was a visa holder
US born Americans are talented at choosing to illegally do cocaine, then blaming their death on drug dealers and cartels who are only providing the supply to meet the demand.
Indian migrants ability to show humility and gratitude to their host countries is a true inspiration to all
Incompetent corrupt grifters that only know how to enrich themselves. Quite the Banana Republic.
Avoid at all cost.
I have colleagues who had to scramble and pay thousands to book last minute flights from London and China to get back before the 21st.
Once again, this administration takes what could be a reasonable policy (allocate visas by companies' willingness to pay vs. random lottery), and implements it in a senseless and arbitrary way.
100k a year starting tomorrow or for new visas? How does one actually pay? Our London and Bangalore offices...
I have colleagues who had to scramble and pay thousands to book last minute flights from London and China to get back before the 21st.
Once again, this administration takes what could be a reasonable policy (allocate visas by companies' willingness to pay vs. random lottery), and implements it in a senseless and arbitrary way.
100k a year starting tomorrow or for new visas? How does one actually pay? Our London and Bangalore offices are beginning to look more attractive.
Good, so I guess this has been also good for airlines. London and Bangalore offices more attractive? great! Have a safe journey
@John Doe
.. arbitrary way, thus reducing the trust that foreign companies have in the US system and so discouraging inward investment which is what they say they want to encourage.
By all means, send those MIT, Caltech, and Rice engineering graduates back to their home countries after they finish school. Those nations will be glad to stop their brain-drain. It's to their ultimate benefit, and will increase their competitiveness over the United States in the long run. That's what we should be talking about here - the future. Ten, twenty, fifty, and one-hundres years... Not just the political expediency of a flash-in-the-pan extremist political ideology...
By all means, send those MIT, Caltech, and Rice engineering graduates back to their home countries after they finish school. Those nations will be glad to stop their brain-drain. It's to their ultimate benefit, and will increase their competitiveness over the United States in the long run. That's what we should be talking about here - the future. Ten, twenty, fifty, and one-hundres years... Not just the political expediency of a flash-in-the-pan extremist political ideology figureheaded by a reality TV star.
India is a powerhouse in the making. Just needs USA (Canada/Ireland/Germany/Yookay etc) to forcibly stop Indian altruistic sacrifice aiming to better these primitive backwaters.
Just you wait! India will succeed only if those troublesome countries collectively cut their nose off despite their face and force this goldmine of talent to stay at home
What do you expect from attention seeking w$&@e?
One should also consider that there were that many Indian nationals in the US on the H1B to create such an issue in the first place though.
Policies aside, the incompetence of this administration is awe-inspiring.
But not surprising.
And yet it still stands as a bastion of rigor and surety compared to the Buden regime
But is it incompetence?
Announce a tough measure; a few companies with lots of money make calls to the administration; soften the measure somewhat.
What could possibly have been said in those calls?!
Ben at what point would the Emirates crew time out? With that delay the crew were onboard the plane for a solid 20 hours. I'm surprised a 3 hour late departure + 15:47 flight time was still legal. Crazy times with all these knee jerk policies.
I hope the Government changes their proposal and charge the 100k any time someone seeks a visa renewal. There’s been widespread abuse of this visa category by Indians (especially those with fragile masculinity).
Oh look, a jealous schmuck, who is likely compensating for something (or lack thereof).
Watch how uncompetitive US becomes against China when you start punishing and reducing these H1B workers. Here is a fact for you, India and China produces at least 1.5 million engineers every year EACH, US does 100k. The H1B attracts mostly the top of those 3-4 million.
Seriously you guys have the vision cell of a goldfish. You don’t see the hugger scope but off course populist saying NO IMMIGRATION MAKE AMERICANS DO THOSE...
Watch how uncompetitive US becomes against China when you start punishing and reducing these H1B workers. Here is a fact for you, India and China produces at least 1.5 million engineers every year EACH, US does 100k. The H1B attracts mostly the top of those 3-4 million.
Seriously you guys have the vision cell of a goldfish. You don’t see the hugger scope but off course populist saying NO IMMIGRATION MAKE AMERICANS DO THOSE JOB is more logical then the fact that it will take decades for those Americans to fill those jobs, let alone be at the same pedigree as their foreign counterparts
Indians love India so much they only begrudgingly move abroad under duress and hardship - real altruistic motivation - to better those poor backwards hovels
Forget it, Eve. All you'll hear in reply is "MAGA! WHOOOOO! MURICA!". Little do they suspect that, in many years time after Cheeto Mussolini has been long dead, they'll still be paying the price for his mistakes.
Elections have consequences.
Not voting has consequences.