Govt's 'stunning silence' is 'absolute darkness' for those who depend on it: Aaditya on H-1B move

Mumbai, Sep 20 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday targeted the Centre over the H1B visa fee hike by the Trump administration in the US, saying its "stunning silence" means "absolute darkness" for those who depend on it.

The revised H1B visa fee would hit not just lakhs of working professionals from India, but also the companies who hire them, he said, adding that the government should speak to the country's citizens as well as the US administration to resolve the crisis.

"The problem isn't only the onslaught, the bigger problem is the stunning silence of the Union Government," Thackeray said in a post on X.

Had 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', 'Make in India' and other such slogans been actually implemented, it would not have been so chaotic, he said.

The weakening rupee against the dollar and the tariffs have anyway hit us hard, and as flowery or brave as the ruling party's talk may sound, we need to look at the stark reality, the MLA representing the Worli assembly constituency in Mumbai said.

"Now the H1B visa fee! It's going to hit not just lakhs of working professionals from India, but also the companies who hire them. A great Indo-US relationship is great for the world, but a silence from our government is absolute darkness for those who depend on it," he said.

"I'm not going to comment on the glorious 11 years of foreign visits and whether it converts to any foreign policy, but we, Indians, need to hear our Government speak to us, and to the US," the former state minister added.

In a sudden move that will hugely impact skilled Indian professionals in the US, President Donald Trump has ordered a steep hike in the annual H-1B non-immigrant visa fee to USD 100,000.

Trump signed a proclamation Friday that restricts the entry into the United States of non-immigrants working in a speciality occupation unless their H-1B petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 100,000. This proclamation will come into effect from 12:01 am September 21, 2025. PTI PR NP