“Crazy Turn Of Events”: Indian-Origin Woman Watches Boyfriend Flee Rome Mid-Holiday Amid H-1B Visa Fee Panic

A dream holiday in Italy turned into a bizarre race against time after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order slapping a jaw-dropping $100,000 fee on certain H-1B visa petitions. The shock announcement sent thousands scrambling, including an Indian-origin American man who ditched his Roman getaway halfway through a pasta-making class, leaving his girlfriend behind.

Roman Holiday Interrupted: Viral Pasta Class Exit In Italy

 

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His partner, Rish, shared the chaotic moment in an Instagram reel that has since gone viral. “Crazy turn of events. My boyfriend had to get up out of our Italian pasta-making class in Rome. Leave. I kid you not, leave. Not the class. Leave Rome,” she said, still stunned.

The urgency wasn’t exaggerated. “Because of the whole H1B $100,000 visa situation that’s going to affect Saturday at midnight. And it’s literally Saturday, midday in Rome right now,” she explained. The couple realised he had only hours to make it back before the new rule kicked in.

The internet ate up the story. Some users admired her composure: “Mad respect to how calm you are. I think I’d have been freaking out. Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday and that things are (eventually) fine for your partner.” One simply wrote, “insane” capturing the sentiment behind the problem. 

Others were more skeptical of the chaos: “Literally took the first flight out of Munich to land before the cutoff only to learn that it did not impact existing visa holders. Absolutely insane!” 

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Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Sends Shockwaves Worldwide

Behind the social media spectacle, the panic was real. Immigration lawyers in the U.S. reported a sudden deluge of calls from frantic clients desperate to know whether they would be forced to cough up $100,000 overnight. The anxiety was sharpest among Indian professionals, who make up more than 70% of all H-1B recipients and often build their lives and families around these visas.

By evening, the White House scrambled to issue clarifications. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X: “This is not an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition.” But for many, the reassurance came too late. Flights were booked, plans abandoned, and vacations cut short.

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For Rish, what should have been a week of wine, history, and pasta was instead punctured by a frantic goodbye. “People had their entire world flipped upside down overnight,” she told her followers. And for her boyfriend, a Roman holiday ended not with gelato at the Trevi Fountain, but with a panicked dash to the airport.

Cover Image Courtesy: lifeofrgr/Instagram