4chan's 'Operation Clog the Toilet' causes panic among H-1B visa holders after Trump's $100,000 fee announcement

Source: The Independent

Tuesday 23 September 2025 08:01 EDT


Users of the right-wing forum 4chan attempted to stop Indian people from returning to the U.S. in response to President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa overhaul by block-booking plane seats over the weekend as part of a prank dubbed “Operation Clog the Toilet.”

After Trump announced on Friday that applicants for H-1B visas would be subjected to a $100,000 fee, rather than being granted them via a lottery system, several major corporations, including Amazon, Microsoft, and JPMorgan, instructed their employees to stay in the U.S. or return home from foreign travel as soon as possible to avoid the financial penalty.

The White House later clarified that the fee would not apply to existing visa holders, only new applicants, but not before the president’s announcement had caused tickets for flights from New Delhi to New York’s John F Kennedy Airport to double in price from INR40,000 ($450) to INR80,000 ($900) as Indian workers rushed back to North America, according to India Today.

Seeking to capitalize on the panic, 4chan users came together to book up plane seats – without actually completing the purchase – to spread further chaos and drive up the ticket price.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/4chan-prank-india-trump-visas-b2831910.html