H1B visa interviews of thousands in India cancelled triggering outrage
New Delhi: A sweeping expansion of American social media vetting has triggered a sudden rescheduling of thousands of H-1B and H-4 visa interviews in India, leaving workers and families facing months of uncertainty and stranded travel plans. Beginning December 15, the United States has widened its online presence review to cover all speciality occupation workers and their dependents, a shift that has coincided with the mass postponement of consular appointments and the introduction of new data collection requirements across several visa and travel categories. The measures come as the Trump administration continues to tighten immigration pathways and heighten scrutiny of foreign visitors and employees.
Over the past week, numerous H-1B applicants in India received abrupt notices informing them that pre-scheduled interviews were no longer valid. Many of these individuals had planned to appear at consular offices later this month, with some appointments due as early as next week. Instead, interview slots have been pushed back by several months, stretching in many cases into March, April and even May next year. A number of applicants had already travelled to India and now cannot return to the United States because they lack valid visa stamps required for reentry.
Applicants scheduled for December 15 appointments reported receiving fresh dates in March, while those originally set for December 19 saw their interviews moved to late May. One applicant wrote anonymously that her H-1B interview in Chennai, fixed for December 18, was cancelled shortly after completing biometrics and automatically reassigned to April 30, 2026. Immigration attorneys say similar accounts have emerged from multiple locations.
The US Embassy in India has urged applicants not to appear for their earlier dates. In a public advisory, Mission India stated, “If you have received an email advising that your visa appointment has been rescheduled, Mission India looks forward to assisting you on your new appointment date. Arriving on your previously scheduled appointment date will result in your being denied admittance to the Embassy or Consulate.”
The embassy confirmed that the rescheduling is connected to changes in vetting procedures. A spokesperson said the Department of State already reviews the online presence of student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M and J classifications and will now apply the same checks to H-1B and H-4 applicants. “Beginning December 15, we are expanding the online presence review to all speciality occupation temporary worker visa applicants and their dependents,” the spokesperson said, adding that each case involves a detailed security evaluation.
Earlier this month, the State Department announced that all H-1B applicants and their H-4 dependents would be required to make their social media profiles public as part of the vetting process. “To facilitate this review, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents, as well as F, M and J nonimmigrant visas, are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to public,” the department said in a notice.
Officials have described the review as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to detect misuse of foreign-worker visas. The administration has repeatedly acted to tighten the H-1B programme, which allows companies to hire foreign workers with specialised skills for an initial three-year period, extendable for another three years. Indian nationals account for an estimated 71 per cent of approved H-1B petitions in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. In September, President Trump signed a proclamation raising the annual H-1B fee to $100,000.
Houston-based immigration attorney Emily Neumann said the sudden disruption of interview schedules in India has created turmoil for companies and employees. “Visa stamping feels like a maze of pitfalls right now. Now, appointments are getting cancelled without warning and pushed out by months. There is no predictability in this process, and it is creating real challenges for businesses and employees who need to travel,” she said on social media.
While the embassy has not disclosed the total number of affected applicants, the postponements extend beyond work visas. Several applicants in other categories have also reported delays linked to the expanded scrutiny of online activity. The Department of State said it “regularly shifts appointments as needed to match resource availability” but added that the security review remains central to each adjudication. “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” the department stated, adding that officials must ensure applicants do not pose risks to the United States and that they plan to engage only in permitted activities. The expanded vetting is part of a broader trend that has reached beyond employment visas. A new proposal filed by US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security would require visitors eligible for visa-free travel under the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation to disclose their social media identifiers from the past five years. The plan would also mandate the collection of telephone numbers used over the last five years and email addresses used over the past ten years, along with additional information on family members.
The ESTA programme allows citizens of about 40 countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Australia and Japan, to visit the United States multiple times during a two-year period after paying a $40 fee. The proposal, which appeared in the Federal Register, cites a January executive order titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” American officials expect a surge in foreign visitors next year when the United States co-hosts the men’s football World Cup with Canada and Mexico, followed by the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
With the new H-1B and H-4 vetting protocols taking effect immediately and interview backlogs extending into next year and beyond, thousands of workers who travelled to India for personal or professional reasons now face prolonged waits. Many continue to share accounts of cancelled plans and employment disruptions while awaiting clarity on when they will be able to return to the United States.with agency inputs
