September 24, 2025

The new H-1B visa fees have shone a bright spotlight on how Indians travel to America. Official US data reveals something surprising – the number of Indians visiting the US for business, fun, and studies has dropped quite a bit recently. From January to August 2025, only 1,554,020 Indians arrived in the US. That’s down 4.3% compared to the same months last year. These travellers come on many visas – work, study, or leisure – and stay at least one night but no more than a year. The summer months saw a bigger dip. June saw 8.1% fewer Indians, July dipped 5.5%, and August plummeted a whopping 14.8% compared to last year. In 2024, India was the 4th biggest source of visitors to the US, with 2.19 million guests trailing behind Canada, Mexico, and the UK. Indians made up 3% of all 72.3 million foreigners visiting the US that year. Why this drop? Multiple reasons, says Hari Ganapathy, co-founder of Pickyourtrail. Rising visa fees, longer waiting times for processing, and travel costs going up are causing trouble. Add to that global shocks like tariffs and political tensions, and travellers are getting more cautious. “On top of this, global uncertainties from tariffs to wider geopolitical tensions are making travellers more cautious, contributing to the 8-15 per cent decline in Indian arrivals over the June-August period,” he said. The tariffs bite too. In July 2025, the US slapped a 25% tariff on Indian goods – then doubled it to 50%. This sparked diplomatic heat and even US President Donald Trump’s social media posts fanned tensions. Looking at other countries reveals mixed stories. Chinese visitors dropped 2%, while Brazilians bucked the trend with a 3.6% rise. Visa interviews have toughened up as well. Rikant Pittie, CEO of EaseMyTrip, says the process is now more strict, with longer waits. Indian travellers are also eyeing new holiday spots like Canada, Australia, and Europe because of growing hassle and costs in the US. Despite the slowdown, Ganapathy believes some visits will stay steady, especially family visits, studies, and big dream trips. But he warns, “if higher costs and processing delays persist, we could see a more sustained softening in leisure travel. If these headwinds continue, the current dip could well deepen in the coming seasons.” The fresh H-1B fees may just be the tip of the iceberg in this shifting travel story.

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Tags: H-1b visa fees, Indian travellers, Us travel decline, Visa delays, Tariffs, Travel trends,