Story of a Indian.

What a night. I was all set to fly to India tonight on the 10 PM flight. Bags checked in, seat assigned, mentally already halfway home. Boarded the flight. Then out of nowhere my phone rings. It is my company’s immigration HR. sounded urgent. “Do not fly.” For a second I froze. I had no idea about the H1B 100k proclamation by Trump and what it meant for me. My heart was pounding. I had to decide right there, right then. I literally asked the crew to offload me and my family off the plane. And something unexpected happened. About 10 other passengers saw me deboarding, came up to me to ask why, and after hearing what was happening they made the same choice. One by one they stepped off too. Yes, we delayed the flight. Yes, people were angry and cursing. But in that moment it felt like life was standing still and I had to do what I knew was right. I cannot thank my company’s immigration HR enough for calling me so late at night. That one call may have saved me and ten other people from making a huge mistake. I do not know if it was right or wrong in the bigger picture but in that moment it felt like the only decision I could live with. Tonight was a reminder that sometimes you get just one chance to make a call and you have to trust yourself.