Indian H-1B visa holders who travelled back to India this month to renew their American work permits have been left stranded after their visa interviews were abruptly rescheduled by US consular offices, The Washington Post reported, citing three immigration lawyers.
The high-skilled workers had appointments cancelled between December 15 and 26, a period that overlaps with the US holiday season, and many are now facing new dates months later, with interviews reportedly pushed to March next year.
In emails reviewed by The Washington Post, the US State Department told affected visa holders that their interviews were being delayed following the implementation of the Trump administration’s expanded social media vetting policy, aimed at “ensur[ing] that no applicants … pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety.”
Previously, these online presence checks were applied mainly to student and exchange visitor visa categories.
The U.S. Embassy in India said on December 10 that the United States had widened its review of social media and online presence to cover all H-1B speciality occupation workers and their H-4 dependents.
On Monday, the Embassy said, "Beginning December 15, the Department of State expanded online presence reviews to ALL H-1B and H-4 applicants as part of standard visa screening."
"This vetting is being conducted globally for ALL applicants of ALL nationalities… while still permitting companies to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers."
Three immigration lawyers quoted by The Washington Post described the disruption as significant. Emily Neumann, a partner at Houston-based immigration firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC, said she had at least 100 clients stranded in India, while Indian attorney Veena Vijay Ananth and Atlanta-based lawyer Charles Kuck said they each had about a dozen cases.
“This is the biggest mess we have seen. I’m not sure there is a plan,” Ananth told The Washington Post. Neumann asked: “How long are companies going to be willing to wait for these people?”
According to an April 2025 report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), India accounts for 71 per cent of all H-1B visa holders, making the delays particularly impactful for Indian professionals.
The visa delays come amid other tightening measures. In July, the State Department announced that H-1B holders and their H-4 dependents would no longer be able to renew visas in third countries, effective September 2, 2025, and on September 19, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B applications. This fee applies to new petitions filed after September 21, including those entered into the 2026 lottery.
Recently in December, California and 19 other US states filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s USD100,000 fee.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the 20-state coalition lawsuit, calling the policy unlawful and warning it could disrupt sectors that rely on skilled foreign workers.
One Indian H-1B worker residing in the Detroit suburbs told The Washington Post that he flew back to India in early December for a wedding and had consular appointments scheduled for December 17 and 23, both of which have since expired.
The expanded social media vetting policy requires visa applicants to set their online privacy settings to public to facilitate review, and consular officers may scrutinise public posts, professional profiles, and online activity as part of the application process. This change has been widely reported as contributing to longer processing times and appointment backlogs.
Affected H-1B holders are now navigating uncertain timelines for returning to their jobs in the United States, with immigration lawyers warning that prolonged delays could strain relationships with employers and complicate future travel plans.