As the State Department pushed hundreds of H-1B visa appointments in India to 2026 without any warning, the impact will be devastating, immigration attorney Ellen Freeman wrote on her LinkedIn, adding that US economy will suffer too as Indian workers are now stuck in their own country. H-1B candidates started receiving emails from the consulate about their appointments being canceled and rescheduled in the last two days. The US embassy in India Tuesday issued a statement confirming the same and urging the candidates to not show up at the consulate on their earlier designated dates as they won’t be admitted.
Social media vetting: Reduce number of applicants each day
The Donald Trump administration is starting social media vetting of all H-1B applicants and their spouses fron December 15. While this will e applciable to H-1Bs from any country, the impact has been massive in India as Indian consulates process hundreds of requests every day and now the number has to be reduced because of the additional work of social media vetting. The officials are now supposed to check all social media profiles of the candidates before proceeding further. “As of December 15, the Department of State will conduct an online presence review for all H-1B applicants and their dependents, in addition to the students and exchange visitors already subject to this review. Due to operational constraints related to processing these visas and to ensure that no applicants issued a visa pose a threat to US national security of public safety, the US Consulate in Hyderabad must reduce the number of applicants each day. The Consulate will not be able to see you on your original appointment date. Please do not show up at the Consulate. We look forward to assisting you on your new appointment date,” the email that US Consulate in Hyderabad sent out read. “It appears that 12/15 was rescheduled to March, 12/16 and 12/17 were rescheduled to April, and 12/18 has been rescheduled to May 2025,” Ellen Freeman said. “H1B workers will lose their jobs now that they are stuck in India. We have to plead with employers to let them either work from India or take prolonged leave of absence for as many as 5 months. In this economic environment and with the deliverables pressure, many employers will not be able to wait. People left their apartment leases, utility bills, car payments in the U.S. The prolonged delay in these visa cancelations will have a devastating effect on our communities and economy. There are human stories behind each visa cancelation and its harsh impact on our colleagues, clients, friends, relatives,” Freeman added. “Visa stamping feels like a maze of pitfalls right now. Now, appointments are getting canceled 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,” another immigration attorney Emily Neumann said.
