hyderabad l sunday l december 14, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION 19 U.S. states sue Trump over $1,00,000 fee on new H-1B visa The Democrat-ruled states warned that the policy will worsen labour shortages in key sectors such as health care, education and technology Petitioners say fee hike against law Coalition led by New york attorney general The attorneys general argued that the new fee breaches both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act, as it was introduced without congressional approval or the required rulemaking process. “The administration thinks it can raise costs on a whim, but the law says otherwise,” said the California attorney general | p9 ■ ■ New York Attorney General Letitia James (L) led 18 other attorneys general in filing the lawsuit. In September, President Donald Trump announced a one-time $1,00,000 fee on all new H-1B petitions Many states depend on H-1B visa to fill essential roles. For instance, about a third of health care workers in New York are H-1B visa holders $2K-5k Is how much it cost to file an H-1b application before the fee hike CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI I am very happy to be in Hyderabad in the midst of all the love and affection shown by you all –Lionel Messi, football legend Harrowing time for paying fans in Bengal accompanied by his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez, things started getting out of hand. Fans All for a glimpse of Messi. For a Messi were delirious. fan, it’s all that matters. As soon as I However, the scenes turned chaotic afreached the gates of the Salt Lake Sta- ter guests in the cordoned-off VVIP area dium at 8.30 am, fatigue from overnight crowded around Messi, blocking his view. journey just disappeared. The stadium The event organiser was heard repeatwas draped in Argentina colours, with edly urging them to step aside. All of a people in jerseys with sudden the situation Messi written on their went out of control and Football legend Lionel Messi presents the GOAT Cup, left, to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy backs. There were giant Messi and his entouafter the exhibition match, and above, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi shakes hands with Luis cutouts and paintings of rage were escorted out Suárez while Rodrigo De Paul and Messi applaud, in Hyderabad on Saturday | vinay Madapu him as well. Fans from of the stadium. We in across the country were the crowd did not know there. My ticket allowed what was happening. me to one part of the Word spread that Messi stands. had left. This sparked More than 60,000 fans anger. Bottles were would have gathered inhurled onto the field, side by 10.30 am. There banners were violently was a cultural programme torn down, and the sithighlighting India and uation deteriorated. Argentina, followed by a Fans turned violent after Leo Messi Fans began breaking friendly football match suddenly left the Salt Lake Stadium chairs and throwing between Diamond Har- due to security reasons | PTI them in the stadium. gareni RR 9, represented by Revanth. bour Club and Mohun BaSeveral people breached After the exhibition game ended, gan. Fans were kept engaged, but as barricades and entered the ground. Messi made a slow lap of the ground, soon as the announcer hollered in sta- Makeshift tents were overturned, chairs turning the moment into something dium PA system that Messi would be en- smashed.Even the goalpost was personal. A gentle kick sent the ball tering, at around 11.30 am, excitement damaged. sailing into the stands, triggering a quickly turned into a frenzy Fans began . Eventually, exhausted and disilluscramble of joy At the football clin- climbing the barriers placed in front of . sioned, fans began leaving the stadium. ics, young players shared the pitch the stands to catch a glimpse of the Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly with the legend, exchanging crisp World Cup winner. who were part of the event cancelled tiki-taka passes. As Messi entered the stadium in a car, their appearances. The loudest applause came when a I am deeply disturbed & shocked by the mismanagement today. I child joined Messi on the grass, the two sharing a brief, unguarded moapologise to Messi, as well as to all sports lovers & fans – Mamata Banerjee ment that drew smiles across the stadium. Addressing the crowd in Spanish, Messi kept it simple. “It has been great to be part of the India tour. I feel very happy and grateful to see so many people, and I am very happy to be in Hyderabad,” he said. Suárez and Guido Rodríguez echoed the senthat has defined a generation. He was timent, speaking of their delight at joined by Luis Suárez and Rodrigo being part of The GOAT India Tour. De Paul, with Revanth alongside Congress MP Rahul Gandhi joined them, a tableau that blurred lines be- the visiting players and Revanth at the tween sport, spectacle and dream. felicitation towards the end of the For the record, Revanth found the net event, posing for photographs in front once and Messi twice. of the sponsorship hoardings. Revanth The legend from Argentina present- presented a memento to Messi while ed the GOAT Cup to the winning team Rahul gave one to Saurez before the of the 7-a-side exhibition match, Sin- event ended.  Related stories on P3 A s h u t o s h A c h a r ya @ Salt Lake Stadium stands HYDERABAD SCORES! City saves the day after Kolkata makes a mess of it E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Hyderabad put its best foot forward on Saturday by ensuring that the visit of Lionel Messi to the city was a resounding success. While the football was limited to an exhibition match between Team Revanth Reddy Singareni and Aparna All Stars, playing for Messi, it was the atmosphere that was electric at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal. The stadium and its vicinity turned into a roaring cauldron of song, colour and belief on a night Hyderabad came to salute football royalty First, Chief Minister A Revanth . Reddy stepped onto the pitch with his team, drawing loud cheers. A while later, Messi appeared Sporting a green colour crewneck half-sleeve T-shirt, a black pant and sport shoes. He initially watched quietly from the sidelines, smiling at the noise he had summoned without touching the ball. When he finally walked onto the field, the stadium erupted. Phones went up, voices cracked, and the stadium shook. Messi waved, took in the scene, and soon offered flashes of the touch Resolution in US House against 50% tariff on India J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Three Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have introduced a resolution seeking to terminate tariffs of up to 50% imposed by President Donald Trump on imports from India, calling the measures illegal and harmful to the US economy and bilateral relations. Representatives Deborah Ross, M a r c Ve a s e y a n d R a j a Krishnamoorthi tabled the resolution on Friday If at all the resolution . is adopted, it would end the national emergency declared on August 6, 2025, under which the tariffs were imposed, and roll back the additional duties levied on Indian goods. The tariffs were invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. They began with a 25% levy in August and were later supplemented with “secondary” duties, pushing effective rates to as high as 50% on several categories of Indian imports. The lawmakers said the tariffs have disrupted supply chains and increased costs for American consumers and businesses, while undermining long-term US-India relations. Krishnamoor thi, an IndianAmerican lawmaker, said the tariff strategy was counterproductive and failed to advance US economic or security interests. He argued ending the duties would help strengthen cooperation between Washington and New Delhi. Uttam presses Centre for fast-tracking of TG projects E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday urged the Jal Shakti Ministry to fast-track statutory approvals for major irrigation projects, including the Dr BR Ambedkar Pranahita–Chevella Sujala Sravanthi scheme. In a representation to Jal Shakti Secretary VL Kantha Rao, Uttam said delays were affecting farmers in drought-prone areas and pushing up project costs. He said proposals in the Krishna and Godavari basins had been pending with Central agencies despite repeated submissions, and that early clearances were needed to protect Telangana’s water entitlements and enable access to Union assistance. He flagged the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, whose Detailed Project Report is awaiting clearance from the Central Water Commission (CWC). The state has sought appraisal of Phase I for an initial utilisation of 45 tmcft, including drinking water, to provide early relief, with Phase II to follow statutory approvals. The minister also sought early clearance for the Sammakka Sagar project, stating that replies to CWC observations had been submitted and remaining queries were being addressed. He asked that scrutiny be completed to allow early benefits. On inter-state issues, he called for an early award by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II, saying this would help Telangana secure clearances for projects taken up earlier on surplus water provisions. Uttam objected to the Polavaram– Banakacherla Link Project, warning against appraisal of what he described as a flood-based diversion without backing under tribunal awards. He said Maharashtra and Karnataka had also raised objections and sought a halt to appraisal, including of the renamed variant, until concer ns were resolved. He further opposed Karnataka’s move to acquire land to raise the height of the Almatti dam, citing a Supreme Court stay and possible impact on assured flows to Telangana. Uttam sought approvals under PMKSY-AIBP for seven projects in drought-prone and tribal areas, noting that proposals had been submitted and some had cleared techno-economic scrutiny, and requested the Union government intervention to resolve pending issues. e x p ress re a d UDF show in Kerala local polls, BJP takes capital T’puram: The Congress-led UDF scripted an authoritative victory in the two-phase local body elections held on December 9 and 11, and the ruling LDF nearly washed out. However, what will go down in history as the biggest takeaway of the 2025 local body polls is the saffron front clinching the prestigious Thiruvanathapuram city corporation. WITH THIS ISSUE The Wars Behind the War PLUS 12 P AGES