1000’s of H-1B visa holders and candidates are going through growing uncertainty with the Trump administration on the brink of implement obligatory social media screening, leading to cancellation and rescheduling of visa interviews en masse at consulates worldwide.
Underneath the brand new rule by the Trump administration, which took impact on December 15, all candidates for the H-1B visa, in addition to H-4 dependents accompanying them, are required to have their on-line profiles set to “public” for obligatory screening. Consulates appear to be limiting their each day interview capability to deal with the brand new vetting, leading to main delays.
Appointment Backlog Strands Employees
Immigration legislation companies reported that in-country consulates have begun to cancel interviews initially scheduled in mid-to-late December 2025. Many appointments have been pushed dramatically, some so far as March 2026, in locations like Hyderabad and Chennai.
Disrupted Journey: The rescheduling has stranded H-1B holders who had travelled dwelling for private causes like attending household weddings or accompanying aged mother and father and now require visa stamping for going again to their US jobs.
Official Affirmation: The US Embassy in India additionally spoke in opposition to the miscommunication on X, confirming the reschedule: “Arriving in your beforehand scheduled appointment date will end in your being denied admittance to the Embassy or Consulate.”
In consequence, immigration attorneys at the moment are advising overseas nationals in H-1B standing to keep away from worldwide journey besides the place completely mandatory.
Elevated Vetting And Revocations
The brand new screening rule requires consulates to spend extra time per applicant, which in flip drives the discount in each day interview slots and the present wave of cancellations. That is a part of a broader ramping up of enforcement by the State Division:
Current Revocations: Already, there have been sporadic reviews of H-1B visas being revoked for these residing within the US based mostly on their social media actions.
Historic Precedent: In Might 2025, the State Division pulled the plug on scheduling appointments for F, M, and J visas—college students and trade guests—to revise social media vetting guidelines, which was the same delay till appointments began once more below extra inflexible necessities in June.
US Continues To Sign Strict Enforcement
The wave of cancellations coincides with a broader announcement signaling ongoing strict enforcement by the US authorities. The US Division of State lately up to date its numbers on X to point out the variety of enforcement actions this 12 months: “85,000 visa revocations since January. President Trump and Secretary Rubio have one easy mandate, and so they aren’t going to cease now.”
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