Hundreds of Indian professionals employed in the United States on H-1B visas are currently unable to return to their jobs after travelling to India for visa renewals this month.
What was meant to be a short trip timed around the US holiday season has turned into an open-ended wait as consular interview appointments across American diplomatic missions in India have been abruptly cancelled or postponed.
The disruption has affected applicants whose interviews were scheduled between December 15 and December 26, a window traditionally favoured by H-1B workers.
Instead, many have found their appointments cancelled with little notice and rescheduled several months later, in some cases not before March 2026.
At the heart of the issue is a major shift in US visa processing priorities under the Donald Trump administration, particularly
the expansion of social media screening to skilled worker visas.
How visa interviews piled up at US embassies & consulates in India
The immediate trigger for the crisis was the mass postponement of H-1B and H-4 visa interviews that had already been scheduled at US embassies and consulates in India.
According to immigration lawyers and reports citing official communications, all interviews set from December 15 onward were affected.
Applicants received emails informing them that their appointments had been delayed due to new vetting requirements.
In correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post, the US State Department said the interviews were being pushed back following the rollout of enhanced screening measures intended “to ensure that no applicants … pose a threat to US national security or public safety.”
For many, the timing was particularly disruptive. December is one of the most popular months for visa renewals because of reduced work obligations in the US and office shutdowns around Christmas and New Year.
The cancellations coincided with this narrow window, leaving applicants with limited alternatives once their visas expired.
What the US Embassy in India has said
The US Embassy in India issued a public advisory on December 9, warning applicants not to appear at diplomatic missions on their original interview dates if they had received rescheduling notices.
“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 advisory said.
The message made clear that consular staff would not make exceptions, even for applicants whose travel plans had already been finalised.
For many, this meant being turned away after flying to another city or waiting outside consular facilities without recourse.
How legal professionals have reacted
Legal professionals representing H-1B holders have described the situation as one of the most severe breakdowns in visa processing they have seen.
Emily Neumann, a partner at Houston-based firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC, said she had “at least 100 clients stranded in India” as a result of the cancellations. Other attorneys reported dozens of similar cases each, spanning different US consulates and Indian cities.
Veena Vijay Ananth, an immigration lawyer based in India, characterised the situation bluntly. “This is the biggest mess we have seen. I’m not sure there is a plan,” she said.
Atlanta-based immigration attorney Charles Kuck also confirmed handling multiple cases involving workers unable to return to the US after their appointments were postponed.
Lawyers say the cancellations were implemented uniformly, regardless of an applicant’s employment history, compliance record, or length of time working in the US.
The result has been a backlog that extends well beyond the immediate holiday period.
How jobs have been put on hold, families have been separated
Behind the administrative disruption lies a growing human toll. Many of the affected individuals are mid-career professionals with established lives in the United States, including mortgages, school-going children, and long-term employment contracts.
One Indian resident of the Detroit suburbs told The Washington Post that he travelled to India in early December for a family wedding. He had visa interviews scheduled for December 17 and December 23. Both appointments expired after being cancelled, leaving him unable to return to the US.
The uncertainty has created anxiety among workers who fear that prolonged absence could jeopardise their jobs. Immigration lawyers have raised concerns about how long employers will be willing or able to hold positions open, particularly in fast-moving sectors such as technology and consulting.
Neumann warned that companies may soon reach a breaking point. “How long are companies going to be willing to wait for these people?” she asked.
According to a report released by US Citizenship and Immigration Services in April, Indian nationals account for 71 per cent of all H-1B visa holders.
This concentration means that any systemic change in processing rules disproportionately affects Indian workers.
The H-1B programme allows skilled foreign professionals to live and work in the US for up to six years and has long been a primary pathway for Indian engineers, IT specialists, researchers, and managers employed by American firms.
How corporate and tech firms have responded
According to Business Insider and Reuters, technology giants such as Google and Apple have warned certain employees against international travel after learning that visa re-entry processing times at US embassies and consulates could stretch up to 12 months.
Google’s external counsel, BAL Immigration Law, sent an email advising employees who require visa stamping to re-enter the US not to travel abroad. The message cited unusually long appointment backlogs and warned that employees could “risk an extended stay outside the US.”
Google, which hires roughly 1,000 H-1B workers each year, had previously issued similar guidance earlier in 2025. In September, Alphabet advised H-1B holders to remain in the United States and avoid international trips, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.
The US State Department has attributed the delays to
a major expansion of social media vetting under the Trump administration. Under the new framework, applicants for H-1B and H-4 visas are now subject to enhanced reviews of their online presence.
Students and exchange visitors applying for F, M, and J visas were already subject to digital footprint checks. As of December 15, the same level of scrutiny has been extended to skilled workers and their dependents.
In an official statement, a US State Department spokesperson highlighted the shift in priorities, “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.”
Another spokesperson defended the slower processing pace, saying, “While in the past the emphasis may have been on processing cases quickly and reducing wait times, our embassies and consulates around the world, including in India, are now prioritising thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else.”
Weeks earlier, visa holders had been instructed to change their social media privacy settings to “public,” signalling that online activity would play a more prominent role in adjudication decisions.
How Trump has been tightening the US visa regime
The interview cancellations are part of a broader tightening of the US immigration system affecting H-1B workers.
In July, the State Department announced that H-1B holders and their H-4 dependents would no longer be permitted to renew visas in third countries from September 2 onward, forcing applicants to return to their home country for processing.
In September, Trump issued a proclamation
imposing a one-time USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications.
While existing visa holders and petitions filed before September 19 are exempt, all new filings submitted on or after September 21 — including entries into the 2026 lottery — must pay the fee.
The fee applies only to fresh applications and does not affect renewals already in progress, but immigration lawyers say it has added another layer of uncertainty for prospective applicants and employers.
Separately, the US government paused green card, citizenship, and other immigration applications for individuals from 19 “countries of concern” following
the killing of National Guard soldiers by an Afghan national.
While India is not among those countries, the move reinforced perceptions of a broader clampdown on immigration pathways.
Some far-right supporters of the administration have called for the programme’s elimination, arguing that it undercuts American workers.
Technology executives and industry groups, particularly in Silicon Valley, have pushed back, describing H-1B professionals as essential to innovation and competitiveness.
With inputs from agencies
