India Flags Concern Over Mass H-1B Visa Interview Cancellations

India on Friday said it flagged its concerns to the US over the cancellation of pre-scheduled H1B visa interviews of a large number of Indians and that both sides are engaged on the issue to address the disruptions caused by Washington ordering enhanced vetting of applicants.

In order to examine the social media posts and online profiles of thousands of H-1B visa applicants, the interviews that were scheduled to begin in India in the middle of this month have been abruptly postponed by several months.

US immigration authorities emailed some of the applicants whose visa appointments were set for last week to let them know that their interviews would now take place as late as May of next year.

"The government of India has received several representations from Indian nationals who are facing delays or problems with rescheduling of their visa appointments," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

"While we do understand that visa-related issues pertain to the sovereign domain of any country, we have flagged these issues and concerns of our nationals to the US side, both in New Delhi and in Washington, DC. We hope that these delays and the disruptions will be addressed," Jaiswal said. India remains actively engaged with the US to "address and minimise the disruptions caused to our nationals".

The Trump administration's policy impacted H-4 visa applicants as well. The H-4 visa holders are primarily spouses of H1B visa workers.

"There are several people who have been stranded for extended periods of time because of scheduling and rescheduling of consular appointments," Jaiswal added.

He claimed that the applicants, their families, and their children's schooling have experienced "a lot of hardships" as a result of the delays in the visa appointment schedule.

Significant delays in the H-1B visa applicants' return to the United States have been caused by the large cancellation of their scheduled interviews due to the increased vetting procedures.

All candidates who were previously scheduled for interviews will have their appointments rescheduled starting on December 15.

Since they lack a valid H1B visa to return to the US for their jobs, the majority of them were already in India and are now unable to do so until their revised interview dates.

For instance, those whose interviews were supposed to take place on December 15 were notified via email that the appointment had been rescheduled for sometime in March. New dates were provided in late May to applicants whose appointments were originally set for December 19.

Interviews for several different categories of visa applicants are also being delayed due to the new requirements for closely examining the applicants' social media presence.

It is not immediately apparent how many candidates were affected by the delays in the visa interviews.

As part of its larger immigration control strategy, the Trump administration has been limiting the H1B visa program. Visa applicants' social media identities and posts are now subject to more scrutiny.

Indians made up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

In September, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation raising the fee for H1-B visas to a staggering USD 100,000.

There is a possibility of H1B visa seekers facing a more challenging situation in the future.

US Vice President JD Vance, a few days ago, said that the Trump administration has worked to restrict H-1B visas as it believes it is wrong for companies to "bypass American labour just to go for cheaper options in the third world".

To a question on the proposed trade deal between India and the US, Jaiswal said both governments remain engaged with a view to concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement.