A strange sight gripped San Francisco International Airport late last week as dozens of Silicon Valley employees scrambled to leave planes they had already boarded.
The move was driven by Donald Trump’s bombshell announcement that America’s H-1B visa programme would come with a new $100,000 (£75,000) fee, triggering panic among Silicon Valley bosses.
After the surprise move, Google, Microsoft and Amazon quickly sent emails to staff members urging them not to leave the country or to return immediately if they were abroad. That left staff seeking to remain on US soil or boarding flights overseas to return to America.
The White House later clarified that the fee would be a one-time payment only for new applicants, and would not be imposed on America’s 1.2 million existing H-1B holders and their dependants.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/09/27/trumps-visa-squeeze-sparks-chaos-in-silicon-valley/
