Indian H-1B visa holders who flew back to renew work permits left stranded

NEW DELHI: Indian H-1B visa holders who travelled back this month to renew their American work permits are stranded amid their appointments being abruptly rescheduled by US consular offices, the Washington Post reported, citing three immigration lawyers.

The Indian high-skilled workers had appointments cancelled between December 15 and 26, the lawyers said, a period coinciding with the US holiday season. In emails viewed by The Washington Post, the State Department told visa holders their interviews were being delayed after the implementation of the Trump administration’s new social media vetting policy, “to ensure that no applicants… pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety.”

The United States has expanded its review of social media and online presence to cover all H-1B speciality occupation workers and their H-4 dependents, the US Embassy in India said on December 10.

In a statement, a US Embassy spokesperson explained that the Department of State already conducts online presence checks for student and exchange visitor visa categories such as F, M, and J. Starting December 15, this review also included H-1B and H-4 applicants.

Emily Neumann, a partner at the Houston-based immigration firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC, said she had at least 100 clients stranded in India. Veena Vijay Ananth, an immigration attorney in India, and Charles Kuck, who practices immigration law in Atlanta, said they each had a dozen such cases.

“This is the biggest mess we have seen. I’m not sure there is a plan,” said Ananth.

A spokesperson for the State Department said, “While in the past the emphasis may have been on processing cases quickly and reducing wait times, our embassies and consulates around the world, including in India, are now prioritising thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else.”

According to an April 2025 report from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), India accounts for 71 per cent of visa holders.

In July, the State Department announced that H-1B holders, and their dependents on H4 visas, would not be able to renew their documents in a third country as of September 2 and on September 19, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B applications, the Washington Post reported.

The Washington Post reported that an Indian man living in the Detroit suburbs said he flew back to India in early December for a wedding and had consular appointments scheduled for December 17 and 23, which have now expired.

The Houston-based attorney, Neumann, asked, “How long are companies going to be willing to wait for these people?”

This comes after the proclamation issued by US President Donald Trump on September 19, ordering a USD 100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications. According to the US State Department, current visa holders and petitions submitted before that date remain unaffected. Under the proclamation, a USD 100,000 fee must accompany every new H-1B visa petition filed after the deadline, including those submitted for entry into the 2026 lottery.

The new fee requirement applies only to individuals or companies filing new H-1B petitions or entering the H-1B lottery after September 21. (ANI)