Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has said the suffering of Telugu IT professionals due to US President Donald Trump's move to steeply hike H1B visa fee would be "unimaginable" and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the issue on a "war-footing". "The executive orders of President of America had come as a shocker to all.

This is totally unacceptable in the historical context of Indo-American relationships," Reddy said in a post on X late on Saturday.

It is for the Union government to immediately set up a mechanism to resolve the issue amicably, keeping (in mind) the interests of "our tech population" and skilled workers, who have served America for so long, he said.

"The suffering for our Telugu techies will be unimaginable. Requesting Hon'ble Prime Minister and EAM Shri @DrSJaishankar to resolve this issue on a war-footing," he said. Earlier on Saturday, state IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu criticised the Union government for maintaining “stoic silence” on the United States’ decision to hike H-1B visa fees steeply. The state government will write a letter to the Union government demanding urgent action, the Minister said, while pointing out that the US move to enhance the fee would have a serious impact on India’s economy, particularly on Telangana state.

For context, after President Donald Trump issued orders early on Saturday introducing a staggering $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications -- a move that will adversely affect Indian professionals in the US -- there was widespread panic and outrage among professionals engaged in the US on H1B visas. The White House moved quickly to ease concerns. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the charge is a one-time fee for new petitions only, not annual or retroactive. Leavitt emphasised that existing H-1B visa holders, whether in the US or abroad, will not have to pay the fee to re-enter the country. Their travel rights remain unchanged. She also clarified that renewals are excluded, and the fee will take effect in the next visa lottery cycle, not immediately.