H1B visa interviews of thousands in India cancelled triggering outrage

A sweeping expansion of American social media vetting has triggered a sudden rescheduling of thousands of H-1B and H-4 visa interviews in India, leaving workers and families facing months of uncertainty and stranded travel plans.

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Beginning December 15, the United States has widened its online presence review to cover all speciality occupation workers and their dependents, a shift that has coincided with the mass postponement of consular appointments and the introduction of new data collection requirements across several visa and travel categories. The measures come as the Trump administration continues to tighten immigration pathways and heighten scrutiny of foreign visitors and employees.

Over the past week, numerous H-1B applicants in India received abrupt notices informing them that pre-scheduled interviews were no longer valid. Many of these individuals had planned to appear at consular offices later this month, with some appointments due as early as next week. Instead, interview slots have been pushed back by several months, stretching in many cases into March, April and even May next year. A number of applicants had already travelled to India and now cannot return to the United States because they lack valid visa stamps required for reentry.

Applicants scheduled for December 15 appointments reported receiving fresh dates in March, while those originally set for December 19 saw their interviews moved to late May. One applicant wrote anonymously that her H-1B interview in Chennai, fixed for December 18, was cancelled shortly after completing biometrics and automatically reassigned to April 30, 2026. Immigration attorneys say similar accounts have emerged from multiple locations.