‘Panic, uncertainty’: Indian techie recalls moment friend asked him to leave his wedding and fly to US

The Indian techie said that although his company applied for a green card in 2017, he thought he would eventually return to India. (Photo: Seattle Times)

Last September, Indian techie Abhishek Abhyankar was in India for his wedding when President Donald Trump announced that H-1B visas would cost $100,000. At the time, it was unclear who would foot the bill, and Abuyankar recalled his panicked friends urging him to book the first flight to Seattle and attend his reception virtually from the United States. Abhyankar refused, and he and his wife (also an H-1B visa holder) later returned to the U.S. without any problems, but neither of them forgot about it and it was a reminder of how conditional their status in the U.S. was. “This creates a lot of panic and uncertainty.”The $100,000 H-1B visa fee is paid by a company when it files a new petition to hire employees from outside the United States on an H-1B visa. This did not suit Avyankar, who spent ten years in the United States.Abuyankar told the Seattle Times that he came to the United States in 2014 to study for graduate school, then found a job and settled down. His employer applied for a green card for him in 2017. But he doesn’t think he’ll become a permanent resident of the United States. It’s not that the wait is too long. But he thinks he will eventually return to India. “The uncertainty of not being in the right situation bothers me deeply,” he said.It’s been announcement after announcement for U.S.-born foreign workers. Then comes the clarification. For example, when the $100,000 H-1B visa fee was announced, it was not clear who would pay the fee. Panic spread as visa holders believed everyone abroad had to pay the fee. It later said that companies hiring H-1B visa holders after the announcement would have to pay the fee. Likewise, the Trump administration recently announced that non-immigrant visa holders are not allowed to wait in the United States for green cards—they must return to their home countries and complete consular procedures. Days later, the government said there was no need to panic because most visa holders would be able to stay in the United States.