In a Buddhist temple on the border of north-eastern Thailand, 28-year-old Chinese man Icey Li was in the midst of chanting his morning meditation when his buzzing phone interrupted the tranquillity. It was his migration agent urging him to get on a flight back to the United States as soon as possible. Icey Li was at a Thai Buddhist temple when he heard a new skilled visa requirement could cost $US100,000 – and possibly also his job in the US. US President Donald Trump had just signed an executive order at the White House, adding a $US100,000 ($152,000) fee for H-1B visa applicants to be paid by the US-based companies acting as sponsors for the skilled workers. Without the payment, any H-1B visa holders trying to enter the US would be “restricted” at the border, the order said, with the measure to come into effect barely 24 hours later at 12.01am on Sunday.