‘He caused H-1B crisis’: Prafull Billore ‘panauti’ memes resurface after his US trip

Prafull Billore, known as MBA Chai Wala, is humorously blamed for the H-1B visa fee hike due to his 'panauti' reputation after a trip to the US.

Updated on: Sep 22, 2025, 07:30:26 IST

By Sanya Jain

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MBA Chai Wala Prafull Billore is again in the spotlight – this time for a trip to the United States that he took earlier this month. Billore is jokingly being blamed for the H-1B fee hike, thanks to the ‘panauti’ label he now carries.

MBA Chai Wala Prafull Billore in California, USA

Why is Prafull Billore called panauti?

Prafull Billore, better known as MBA Chai Wala, catapulted to widespread attention not only for his entrepreneurial journey but also because of a meme that labeled him “panauti”—a Hindi word meaning bad luck, misfortune, or jinx.

The nickname gained popularity when Billore posted a selfie with cricketer Suryakumar Yadav in June 2024. The next day, Yadav scored just 6 runs in a T20 match. This sparked ‘panauti’ memes on the MBA Chai Wala.

Billore himself seems to have embraced the “panauti” label. He launched what’s called a Reverse Panauti campaign, where instead of letting the label tarnish his image, he plays along and uses it as a marketing tool.

MBA Chai Wala’s US trip

On September 8, Prafull Billore shared a picture on X that shows him in the US. The picture shows the entrepreneur posing in front of the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.

A few days later, US President Donald Trump announced that all new H-1B visa applications will attract a massive one-time fee of $100,000. The news triggered anxiety across the globe, especially in India where millions of techies work in the US on an H-1B visa.

People aware of Billore’s ‘unlucky’ reputation immediately connected the two seemingly-unconnected events and began blaming the MBA Chai Wala for the fee hike.

Responding to Billore’s California photo, one X user wrote: “This caused H1B Visa Crisis. He is having 100 % Strike rate.”

“The real reason behind Trump's H1b visas restrictions,” said another. “H1B visa ka culprit mil gya,” an X user joked.

“The real reason behind Trump's H1B visas restrictions #panauti,” quipped a user.

“Now we know the culprit behind H1B woes. Panauti bhai at his best,” another added.

(Also read: Memes flood social media after Donald Trump imposes $100,000 fee on H-1B visas)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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