India’s leading IT trade body said on Saturday it was concerned by a new annual $100,000 fee that US President Donald Trump ordered for H-1B skilled worker visas, an addition that could have major repercussions for the tech industry where such permits are widespread.The foreign ministry in New Delhi also said the new measure, which will likely face legal challenges, would cause “disruption” for the families of H-1B visa holders.Such visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialised skills — such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers — to work in the United States, initially for three years but extendable to six.The United States awards 85,000 H-1B visas per year on a lottery system, with India accounting for around three-quarters of the recipients.India’s top IT industry body Nasscom said the new measure would hit “business continuity” and was also concerned by the short timeline, with the new fee coming into effect on Sunday.”A one-day deadline creates considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world,” Nasscom said in a statement.”Policy changes of this scale are best introduced with adequate transition periods, allowing organisations and individuals to plan effectively and minimise disruption,” it said.Trump announced the change in Washington on Friday, along with the introduction of a $1 million “gold card” residency programme he had previewed months earlier.”The main thing is, we’re going to have great people coming in, and they’re going to be paying,” Trump told reporters as he signed the orders in the Oval Office.India’s foreign ministry said the mobility of skilled talent had contributed to “technology development, innovation, economic growth, competitiveness and wealth creation” in both countries and that it would assess the changes.It said in a statement the new measure would likely have “humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families”, which it hoped would be addressed by US authorities.- Not enough homegrown talent -Large technology firms rely on Indian workers who either relocate to the United States or come and go between the two countries.US bank JPMorgan confirmed that a memo had been sent to its employees with H-1B visas advising them to remain in the United States and avoid international travel until further guidance was issued.Tech entrepreneurs — including Trump’s former ally Elon Musk — have warned against targeting H-1B visas, saying that the United States does not have enough homegrown talent to fill important tech sector job vacancies.However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who joined Trump in the Oval Office, said: “All the big companies are on board.”Trump has had the H-1B program in his sights since his first term in office, but faced court challenges to his earlier approach, which targeted the types of jobs that qualify.The current iteration has become the latest move in the major immigration crackdown of his second term.The number of H-1B visa applications has risen sharply in recent years, with a peak in approvals in 2022 under Democratic president Joe Biden.In contrast, the peak in rejections was recorded in 2018, during Trump’s first term in the White House.The United States approved approximately 400,000 H-1B visas in 2024, two-thirds of which were renewals.Trump also signed an order on Friday creating a new expedited pathway to US residency for people who pay $1 million, or for corporate sponsors to pay $2 million.”I think it’s going to be tremendously successful,” he said.South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday officials would “comprehensively assess the impact of these measures on the advancement of (South Korean) companies and professional talents into the US market and engage in necessary communication with the US”.Hundreds of South Koreans were detained during a US immigration raid on a Hyundai-LG battery factory site in the state of Georgia this month.

An elderly British couple released by the Taliban authorities after almost eight months in detention in Afghanistan arrived back in the UK on Saturday.Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, arrived on a flight from the Qatari capital Doha, where they had stayed  for medical checks following their release on Friday.Qatar played a key role in helping to free the couple after mounting fears about their health.Barbie Reynolds smiled broadly as the couple walked out of the arrivals area at London’s Heathrow airport, but did not stop to talk to reporters. They were accompanied by their daughter, Sarah Entwhistle, and British special representative to Afghanistan Richard Lindsay.The family has spoken of their “immense joy” on hearing that the Reynolds were released, and there were emotional scenes when they arrived in Doha on a flight from Kabul to be met by Entwhistle.”This experience has reminded us of the power of diplomacy, empathy and international cooperation,” their four children said in a joint statement on Friday.”While the road to recovery will be long as our parents regain their health and spend time with their family, today is a day of tremendous joy and relief.”The couple were arrested in February as they were returning to their home in Bamiyan province, central Afghanistan.They were first held in a maximum security facility, “then in underground cells, without daylight, before being transferred” to the intelligence services in Kabul, UN experts have said.The couple married in Kabul in 1970 and have spent almost two decades living in Afghanistan, running educational programmes for women and children. They also became Afghan citizens.When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they remained in Afghanistan against the advice of the British embassy.- ‘Afghan citizens’ -The Taliban authorities have not explained why the pair were detained.Speaking at Kabul airport on Friday before they left, Barbie Reynolds said the couple had been treated well and were “looking forward to seeing our children”.”We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens,” she added.Their son, Jonathan, echoed to the BBC that his parents were hoping to return to the country they love.”They have not just a heart for the people of Afghanistan, but they have strategy as well, and the work they’ve been doing has been very fruitful and has a massively positive impact,” he said.In July, independent UN human rights experts called on the Taliban government to free the couple, warning that they risked “irreparable harm or even death” as their health deteriorated.Their family had made repeated pleas for their release, citing their failing health.Taliban foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Friday the couple “had violated the laws of Afghanistan” and were released from custody “following the judicial process”.Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “long-awaited news will come as a huge relief” to the family.The British government advises against travelling to Afghanistan, warning that its ability to offer consular assistance is “extremely limited”.Russia is the only country to have officially recognised the Taliban government, which has imposed a strict version of Islamic law and been accused of sweeping human rights violations.Dozens of foreign nationals have been arrested since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces.