What Is ‘Clog The Toilet’? Campaign Launched To Block Indian H-1B Holders From Flying Back To US

Last Updated:September 28, 2025, 16:15 IST

Users of the right-wing forum 4chan booked flights without paying in a bid to keep Indian H-1B workers from returning to the US in a prank dubbed as ‘Operation Clog The Toilet’

Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on H-1B visas sparked a frenzy among Indian workers. (Representative image)

Indian H-1B holders are facing a wave of racism from right-wing trolls after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, which triggered a panic among Indian employees working in America.

Hours after Trump signed the order, Indian workers rushed back to the US after Big Tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and JPMorgan, instructed them to return before the deadline of September 21. However, users of the right-wing forum 4chan attempted to stop Indian workers from returning to the US with a prank dubbed as ‘Operation Clog The Toilet’, according to The Independent.

However, 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 Rs 37,000-40,000 was suddenly selling for Rs 70,000-80,000.

What Is ‘Operation Clog The Toilet’

Users on the notorious imageboard 4Chan launched ‘Operation Clog The Toilet’ in their attempt to stop Indian H-1B holders from returning. The plan was to book plane seats without actually completing the purchase to drive up ticket prices.

Users searched for popular India-US flight routes, booked seats and left the checkout page open for 15 minutes for 15 minutes without paying. This ‘seat-holding’ trick blocked real passengers from booking.

“Indians are just waking up after the H-1B news a post on the forum’s ‘patriots.win’ thread read. “Want to keep them in India? Clog the flight reservation system!” A user bragged about getting “100 seats locked”, relishing the turmoil faced by Indian airlines.

The aim of this operation was to stop Indians from coming back to the US after the supposed fee deadline and “wreck Jeets”, a derogatory term used for people of South Asian origin and create panic. “Total jeet death” and “Whatever it takes to make a turd free west” were some of the other racist messages for Indians on the forum, as per reports.

What Is 4chan?

Founded in 2003, 4chan is an imageboard that has long been associated with internet trolls, conspiracy theorists, and the alt-right, on which users share juvenile memes and occasionally illegal content, mostly anonymously, according to The Independent.

Organised into topic-specific boards, the platform lets users post anonymously without registering, a feature that drives both its creative output and its controversial reputation. While it has been the birthplace of numerous viral internet trends, it is also notorious for facilitating disruptive pranks and harassment campaigns.

The latest operation targeting Indian H-1B workers led to increased ticket prices and disruption of travel plans, before White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the new rule does not affect existing H-1B users.

About the Author

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More

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