- India has rasied postponement of thousands of H1B visa interviews with the US, the government said
- The US delayed interviews by months to review applicants' social media profiles citing national security
- E-mails announcing rescheduled dates - for interviews from December 15 on - were emailed starting December 10
India said Friday it had spoken to the US over thousands of cancelled H-1B visa interviews, which were scheduled from December 15 onwards and then postponed abruptly by months, as late as May 2026 in some cases. The delays were to scrutinise applicants' social media posts.
At a weekly press briefing this evening a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the government had received representations from Indians facing problems with rescheduled appointments.
"We have flagged these issues and our concerns to the US... here and in Washington," he said, pointing out, however, that visa-related issues lie in the sovereign domain of that country.
"Nevertheless, we remain engaged with the US to minimise disruptions to our nationals."
Notifications of rescheduled interviews were sent via e-mails starting the night of December 10.
"If you have received an email advising that your visa appointment has been rescheduled," the e-mail said, "Mission India looks forward to assisting you on your new appointment date."
However, the exact number of rescheduled interviews is unclear.
Why the rescheduled interviews?
The US government, which has launched a raft of controversial changes to its immigration system under President Donald Trump's second administration, has now made one more demand of visa applicants - they want to dig through their social media profiles and posts.
Applicants were ordered to keep their profiles in 'public' mode.
American immigration officials will then scroll through to identify applicants deemed to pose a threat to that country's national security or public safety. "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision," the State Department said, defending its new social media check policy.
READ | H-1B Visa Appointments Postponed Amid US' Social Media Rules
Students and exchange visitors were already subject to such scrutiny.
The social media screening is just the latest scrutiny of the H-1B program.
In September, Trump imposed a one-time $100,000 fee on new H-1B work visas - an order that could significantly impact Indian workers seeking temporary employment in the US.
US President Donald Trump is pushing for stricter immigration rules (File).
Trump has argued the visas are being abused - the US awards 85,000 of these per year, and India gets the majority - to replace US workers with foreigners willing to work for lesser money.
Tech entrepreneurs - including Trump's on-again, off-again ally Elon Musk - warned against this move, saying the US does not have the domestic talent to fill key tech sector job vacancies.
The $100,000 fee order was challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business lobbying group, and the Association of American Universities, which represents 69 US-based research universities. However, on Christmas Eve a federal judge upheld the President's order.
READ | US Judge Upholds Trump's $100K H-1B Visa Fee Amid Crackdown
In a 56-page opinion, Judge Beryl Howell wrote Trump has the"broad statutory authority" to address "a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security."
Meanwhile, the US also paused Green Card, citizenship, and other immigration applications for people from 19 'countries of concern'; this followed an Afghan national shooting US soldiers.
With input from agencies
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