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Indian H-1B visa holders who returned this month to renew their US work permits are left stranded after US consulates suddenly rescheduled their appointments, The Washington Post reported, quoting three immigration lawyers.
Lawyers said appointments of Indian high-skilled workers were canceled between December 15 and 26, which was the holiday season in the US. In an email seen by The Washington Post, the State Department told visa holders that their interviews were being postponed after the Trump administration’s new social media screening policy was implemented, “to ensure that no applicant … poses a threat to U.S. national security or public safety.”
The US Embassy in India said on December 10 that the United States has expanded the scope of its review of social media and online presence to include all H-1B specialty occupation workers and their H-4 dependents.
In a statement, a US Embassy spokesperson pointed out that the State Department already conducts online attendance checks for student and exchange visitor visa categories such as F, M and J. Starting December 15, this review also includes H-1B and H-4 applicants.
Emily Newman, partner at Houston-based immigration firm Reddy Newman Brown PC, said at least 100 of her clients are stranded in India. Veena Vijay Ananth, an immigration lawyer in India, and Charles Cook, who practices immigration law in Atlanta, said they have a dozen such cases.
“This is the biggest mess we’ve ever seen. I’m not sure there’s a plan,” Ananth said.
A State Department spokesperson said, “While in the past the emphasis has been on expeditiously clearing cases and reducing wait times, our embassies and consulates around the world, including India, are now giving the highest priority to thoroughly investigating each visa case.”
According to an April 2025 report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), 71 percent of the visa holders are from India.
In July, the State Department announced that H-1B visa holders and their dependents on H4 visas would not be able to renew their documents in a third country starting September 2, and on September 19, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a US$100,000 fee on new H-1B applications, The Washington Post reported.
The Washington Post reported that an Indian man living in the suburbs of Detroit said he had flown back to India in early December for a wedding and had scheduled consular appointments for December 17 and 23, which have now expired.
Newman, the Houston-based attorney, asked, “How long will companies be willing to wait for these people?”
The announcement follows US President Donald Trump’s announcement on September 19 mandating a fee of US$100,000 for new H-1B visa applications. According to the US State Department, it will have no impact on existing visa holders and applications submitted before that date. Under this announcement, a fee of US$100,000 is required to be submitted with each new H-1B visa application filed after the deadline, including applications submitted for entry into the 2026 lottery.
This new fee requirement applies only to individuals or companies who file new H-1B applications or participate in the H-1B lottery after September 21.