No hope of H-1B situation improving: Experts

Indian professionals working in the US are facing major disruption as no new H-1B visa stamping dates appear to be available this calendar year. In several cases, new interview appointments are being pushed to 2027. Visa offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata currently show no regular interview slots. The US State Department website lists the waiting period for the next available appointment as “not available” for petition-based visas such as H, L, O, P and Q at multiple locations, including Delhi and Kolkata. Immigration experts say there is little chance of improvement in the near future. According to a TOI report, applicants who had interview dates scheduled for January and February have also received emails from US consulates stating that their appointments have been moved to April or May 2027. The backlog is building up as the Trump administration restructures the H-1B programme. On December 29, 2025, US Citizenship and Immigration Services published new rules for the FY 2027 visa cycle. The annual cap remains at 85,000 visas, including 20,000 reserved for applicants with US postgraduate degrees. Delays have also increased due to broader changes in US visa policy. Mandatory social media screening has been introduced for visa applicants. This has increased processing time per applicant and reduced the number of interviews consulates can conduct daily. In addition, visa stamping in third countries is no longer allowed except in limited cases, shifting the entire demand for Indian applicants to consulates within India. Immigration attorney Emily Neumann said she has not seen any new visa interview slots open for India in the last 50 days. She advised H-1B holders currently in the US not to attempt visa stamping in India. “They are not in any hurry to give you a visa. They are trying to deny visas whenever they can. It is a completely different world from what we saw during the Biden administration. This administration does not want to give you visa,” Neumann said. Alongside stamping delays, the US State Department is also revoking visas on a precautionary basis. H-4 visa holders are also seeing revocations linked to their H-1B spouses, adding to uncertainty for Indian families living in the US.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/7dKj0zC