H-1B visa fee: After US President Donald Trump signed the “Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers” proclamation, it sent ripples across the world, particularly for H-1B visa holders in the United States. Tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft have issued advisories urging their employees to return to the US by September 21, 12:01 AM ET (9:30 AM IST).
H-1B visa: Can you reach US from India before deadline?
This raises a critical question: Can a techie, who is in India, enter the United States before September 21? Let us find out.
We examined flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru to the United States.
On Paytm, no flights depart before 7:00 PM today. All options include layovers, with the shortest journey taking 20 hours and 20 minutes. Taking this into consideration, a person would not be able to reach the US before the deadline.
MakeMyTrip data shows similar results: the fastest Delhi to New York flight takes about 19 hours and 55 minutes, departing late at night with a stop in Mumbai.
Mumbai and Bengaluru departures pose a similar challenge, which is that no flights can get passengers to the US in time.
‘Highly unlikely,’ say ChatGPT, Perplexity
We also asked AI chatbots, and here’s what they told us. ChatGPT said that one can only reach the US if they leave India by the evening of September 19.
“Deadline: September 21, 12:01 AM ET = September 21, 9:31 AM IST. Flight time: Direct India–US flights take 15–16 hours,” it said, before explaining, “To land before the deadline, a techie would need to board a nonstop flight from Delhi/Mumbai to New York/Newark no later than ~6:00 PM IST on September 19.”
Perplexity described it as “highly unlikely” since direct flights from India to the US take approximately 14 to 17 hours.
It reasoned, “India is about 9.5 to 10.5 hours ahead of Eastern Time (ET). Flights leaving India anytime on September 20, even early morning, will arrive in the US only after 12:01 AM ET on September 21 due to flight time plus time zone differences.”
‘Only if they have a valid visa’: Grok
Grok said that it is possible to travel to the United States for an Indian before the September 21 deadline only if they have a valid visa.
However, when we asked Elon Musk’s AI chatbot what time a techie should leave India, it said 6:00 AM IST on September 20, which means it is not possible to reach the US before the deadline.
‘Book a private charter plane,’ say social media users
The urgency of the situation has triggered a wave of responses online, with one social media user suggesting that people should book a charter plane to reach the US before the September 21 deadline.
“Take a private charter flight if you have to, to save $100k and enter the US before midnight on an H-1B visa,” he said, before adding, “Your employer will most probably abandon you after tomorrow if you can’t enter the US.”
Another tagged MEA S Jaishankar and urged him to issue an “urgent advisory” for stranded techies and stand by them in this hour of “distress”. He went on to add that “life is bigger than any visa or deadline” and that the “storm too will pass”.
He added, “Tonight, thousands of Indians on H1B/H4 visas are stranded here in India. They came for stamping, to meet parents, to attend a wedding. Now, a rule says, if they don’t return to the US by Sept 20 midnight, their dreams die unless companies pay $100,000. They are in panic, stuck in India. Years of sacrifice, loans worth lakhs, all at risk.”