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Starting December 15, the United States volition grow “online beingness review” of each “specialty concern impermanent idiosyncratic (H-1B) visa applicants and their dependents successful the H-4 visa classification”, a spokesperson of the U.S. Embassy said connected Wednesday (December 10, 2025).
“In each visa case, we volition instrumentality the clip indispensable to guarantee an applicant does not airs a hazard to the information and information of the United States and that helium oregon she has credibly established his oregon her eligibility for the visa sought, including that the applicant intends to prosecute successful activities accordant with the presumption of admission,” said the spokesperson explaining the reasons down the scrutiny of the applicants’ online presence.
“The Department of State regularly shifts appointments arsenic needed to lucifer assets availability. We volition pass immoderate changes straight to affected visa applicants,” the spokesperson further said.
In September this year, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a $100,000 yearly interest connected caller H-1B visa applications, triggering panic among the immense IT workforce of India that works arsenic a span betwixt the 2 countries. The announcement was seemingly aimed astatine facilitating employment opportunities for the U.S. citizens successful the IT sector.
The latest announcement connected vetting societal media activities has added different furniture to the assistance of H1-B visa seekers, which is expected to prolong the waiting clip for caller applicants.
Some applicants, whose visa appointments were scheduled adjacent week, person received emails from U.S. migration authorities informing that their interviews are being pushed backmost arsenic precocious arsenic May adjacent year.
The wide cancellation of scheduled interviews of the H-1B visa applicants is acceptable to effect successful important delays successful their instrumentality to the U.S. The rescheduling is for each applicants who were antecedently fixed appointments from December 15 onwards.
For example, those whose interviews were scheduled for December 15 received emails postponing the day to sometime successful March. Applicants whose appointments were scheduled for December 19 were fixed caller dates successful precocious May.
It is learnt that interviews of respective different categories of visa applicants are besides being postponed successful presumption of the caller norms.
The nonstop fig of applicants impacted by the delays successful the visa interviews is not instantly known.
The US Embassy urged visa applicants not to travel to the consular offices based connected their antecedently scheduled interrogation date. “If you person received an email advising that your visa assignment has been rescheduled, Mission India looks guardant to assisting you connected your caller assignment date,” it said.
“Arriving connected your antecedently scheduled assignment day volition effect successful your being denied admittance to the Embassy oregon Consulate,” it said.
Many visa applicants enactment retired anonymous posts connected societal media sharing their ordeal. “My H-1B consular assignment successful Chennai, primitively connected December 18, got cancelled close aft I completed the biometrics process connected Tuesday, and was auto-rescheduled to April 30, 2026,” said 1 applicant.
Under the H-1B visa programme, companies enlistee overseas workers with specialised skills to enactment successful the US, initially for 3 years that tin beryllium renewed for 3 much years. Indians made up an 71% of each approved H-1B applications successful caller years, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
(With PTI inputs)
