3800 dollars for flights and abortion: How Trump H-1B Declaration is panic

Six weeks later The Xiayun business trip, an employee of the semiconductor company in the Silicon Valley, fell in her hometown in China for vacation when she saw the news about H-1B visas. Friday afternoon, US President Donald Trump signed advertisement Saying that any H-1B visa holder will be “restricted”, with the exception of these foreigners who are accompanied by or complemented by payment by paying $ 100,000. “The news left Xiayun and hundreds of thousands of migrant workers claiming to know how they were affected and if they were, if they were outside, they should return before Sunday, when the new valid rule was appointed.

Xiayun, who requested the use of the name of the pseudonym online and not to mention the name of her employer in the story to avoid identifying it, claims that she started receiving contacts from her manager asking her to think about returning as soon as possible to avoid fees. Before she met her family at the airport, she says she has already decided to return to the United States as soon as possible. I only stayed in Oromi for two hours before moving on the next trip to California.

“I was looking for the opportunity to travel with my father for a long time, but the reality is, I can’t leave behind my husband, leg, home, friends and work in the United States,” I told WIRED.

H-1B is one of the most common work visas, issued to skilled workers looking for temporary residence in the United States for up to three years, with the possibility of continuous employment. In 2019, USCis Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) estimated There are more than 580,000 migrants carrying H-1B visas in the country. Silicon Valley companies are the largest user of the program, according to the data collected by USCis on employers who obtained the largest number of H-1B visas each year. In the fiscal year 2025It included the best companies that sponsor new H-1B visas Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google.

By Friday evening, Microsoft, Google and Amazon sent urgent contacts to foreign employees, according to email messages reviewed by WIRED, by advising them to return to the states before the final date on the specified Sunday in the announcement.

Conflicting messages from the White House have declined, American Minister of Trade Howard Lottenicand Secretary Caroline LevittAnd the other government Social media accounts. “Things change every hour, every 30 minutes,” says Stephen Brown, a Reddy Neumann Brown PC. Lutnick claimed that the $ 100,000 fees will be imposed annually, and others said it is one -time fee; The original announcement did not exempt the current visa holders, but the follow -up ads did. The new contradictions and developments have left legal migrant workers, their families and employers who are not sure of what must be believed during the weekend last weekend.

WIRED spoke to six H-1B visa holders who made decisions at the last minute to return to the United States from leave or work trips before the new policy takes. All of them asked to be recognized by their first or last names in this story, for fear that speaking against the administration will lead to revenge. While explanations Posted by Administration On Saturday afternoon, most of the H-1B visa holders who were outside the country at that time did not actually need to decline, at that time they claim that they have already lost thousands of dollars in changing their travel plans and spent two days in emotional pressure.