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New Delhi. Thousands of Indian professionals dreaming of working in America or preparing to return there have suffered a major setback. Interviews for thousands of H-1B visa applicants in India, scheduled for the end of this month, have been suddenly postponed. The most surprising thing is that the reason for this is being said to be scrutiny of social media posts and online profiles of the applicants.
Those whose interviews were scheduled to take place next week will now have to wait for several months. American officials have sent an email saying that these interviews have now been postponed till May next year. This decision has increased the troubles of those people who had come to India on leave and now are not able to go back to America for their jobs without visa stamping.
Social media investigation becomes a problem
According to reports, this delay is happening because US immigration officials are now deeply examining the social media profiles of applicants. The entire interview schedule has been disrupted due to increased scrutiny procedures under the new rules. The interviews of all the applicants who were given ‘appointments’ on or after December 15 have been rescheduled. The situation is that those whose interview was on 15th December, has been extended till March. At the same time, applicants due on December 19 have got dates of the end of May. It is believed that due to the new criteria for checking social media profiles, other categories of visas may also be affected.
Thousands of professionals stranded in India
The worst impact of this decision has been on those people who are already present in India. He was looking forward to returning to the US for his job, but now he no longer has a valid H-1B visa and the interviews have been pushed back by several months. Sharing his pain on social media, an applicant said that his appointment for H-1B visa in Chennai was scheduled on 18th December. As soon as the biometrics process was completed on Tuesday, his interview was immediately canceled and it was automatically rescheduled for April 30, 2026.
‘Visa process like a trap’
Experts have also raised questions on this chaos. Houston-based immigration lawyer Emily Newman has strongly criticized the cancellation of H-1B visa interviews in India. He said, ‘The process of getting a visa is no less than a trap at this time. Appointments are being canceled without any prior notice and are being postponed by several months. He said on social media that there is no certainty in this process, which is creating serious challenges for businesses and employees.
Embassy advice
In view of this situation, the US Embassy in India has made a request to the visa applicants. The Embassy has said that applicants should not come to the Embassy on the basis of their old or pre-determined interview date. The exact number of affected applicants is not yet known, but it could be in the thousands.
