Hundreds of Indian professionals who were returning home this month to renew their U.S. work visas were left in unexpected limbo after the U.S. consulate abruptly canceled and rescheduled their H-1B interview appointments amid an expanded vetting process.
Appointment cancellations began in mid-December as new social media and online presence reviews took effect, causing employees’ appointments to be pushed back for months — in some cases until 2027 — disrupting work, family and plans to return to the United States.
“H-1B India January visa appointments will be postponed to September,” said immigration lawyer Rajiv Khanna. “There is nothing we can do because this administration seems to have deliberately created a systemic problem. What is the extreme emergency that social media censorship policies have to change and people’s lives are upended overnight? This has become a common problem for H-1B workers in India.”
The State Department linked many of the delays to a new policy requiring expanded social media vetting of applicants, a shift that reduced the number of interviews conducted each day and forced consulates to delay scheduled appointments.
“Also note that the Trump administration earlier announced a policy that you can only apply for a visa from your country of citizenship or country of residence,” Khanna said. “This decree, coupled with the current delay fiasco, creates a ‘wall’ for employers and employees who are already in the stamping process.”
Affected H-1B workers face a host of challenges: separation from family members in the United States, potential lost wages, and uncertainty about job security. Immigration experts urge workers to communicate with employers about remote work options or extended leave to avoid losing visa-related positions.
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The delays also come amid broader immigration policy changes under the Trump administration, including increased vetting requirements and high fees for new H-1B petitions. Critics argue the cumulative effect of these measures is causing undue hardship on skilled workers and the companies that rely on them.
Tech industry leaders are taking notice. Google and Apple have reportedly warned some employees with visas not to travel internationally because returns can take up to a year to process, reflecting massive backlogs at U.S. embassies around the world.
With tens of thousands of U.S. jobs in industries such as technology and engineering relying on H-1B talent, employers and workers alike are watching the situation closely as visa processing delays continue into next year.
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