India raises H-1B visa delays with US as applicants face uncertainty

The new rule is effective February 27, 2026, and will be in place for the FY 2027 H-1B cap registration season.  

India on Friday said it has raised its concerns with the United States over the cancellation and postponement of pre-scheduled H-1B visa interviews affecting a large number of Indian applicants, and that both sides are in touch on the matter.

Thousands of H-1B visa interviews scheduled in India from mid-December have been abruptly deferred by several months as part of enhanced scrutiny of applicants’ social media activity and online profiles. Some applicants, whose appointments were fixed for last week, received emails from US immigration authorities informing them that their interviews had been rescheduled to dates as late as May next year.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government has received multiple representations from Indian nationals facing difficulties in rescheduling their visa appointments.

“Visa-related issues pertain to the sovereign domain of any country,” he said, adding, “we have flagged these issues and our concerns to the US side, both here in New Delhi and in Washington DC.”

Jaiswal noted that several Indians have been stranded in the country for extended periods due to the delays, leading to significant “hardships” for them and their families.

“The government of India remains actively engaged with the US side to minimise the disruptions caused to our nationals,” he said.

The mass postponement of interviews, triggered by enhanced vetting measures, has delayed the return of many H-1B visa holders to the United States. The rescheduling applies to applicants who were earlier given interview slots from December 15 onwards.

Most affected applicants had travelled to India for visa stamping and are now unable to return to the US for work as they do not currently hold valid H-1B visas, officials said.

The issue has gained urgency amid major changes announced by the Trump administration to the H-1B visa programme. In a significant shift, the US is set to replace the long-standing random lottery system with a new selection process that prioritises higher-skilled and higher-paid applicants.

In a statement earlier this week, the US Department of Homeland Security said it is amending regulations governing H-1B visas to better protect American workers’ wages and job opportunities. The new rule will come into effect on February 27, 2026, and apply to the FY 2027 H-1B cap registration season.

Explaining the rationale, USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said, “The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by US employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers.”

He added, “The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivising American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers.”

The administration has also announced a USD 100,000 additional fee on new H-1B visa applications and rolled out enhanced screening measures, including social media checks for H-1B and H-4 visa applicants from December 15. As a result, several visa interviews across India have been postponed, leaving many professionals who travelled home for visa stamping stranded.

Indian nationals form one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders in the US. The annual cap remains at 65,000 visas, with an additional 20,000 reserved for applicants holding advanced US degrees.