Thousands of Indian H-1B workers and their H-4 spouses and children who flew home for year-end visa stamping are now stuck after U.S. consulates across India began mass-rescheduling interviews, pushing many appointments from mid-December 2025 into March–May 2026 or even later, according to affected applicants and immigration lawyers tracking the disruption.
The abrupt delays hit all five U.S. consular posts in India—Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata—where many travelers had expected a short trip back to the United States. Instead, applicants say they received rescheduling emails between December 9 and December 11, 2025, often after flights were booked, leave was approved, and children were pulled out of school for the holidays.
What changed and why appointments are being delayed
Lawyers and applicants tie the backlog to a U.S. State Department screening change that took effect on December 15, 2025: every H-1B and H-4 applicant must now submit five years of social media history for review through Washington’s continuous-vetting system. The added screening step has:
- Slowed case handling.
- Reduced the number of interview slots consulates can offer each day.
- Forced consulates to move appointments originally set for December 15, 2025, or later.
Consulates started mass-rescheduling those appointments, and the U.S. Embassy has warned that people who arrive on their original date may be turned away. For families who timed travel around school breaks and workplace shutdowns, the effect has been particularly disruptive.
“If you haven’t travelled yet, stay put,” said attorney Rebecca Chen, who advises employment-based visa holders. She urged employers to set up remote-work plans for staff caught abroad and to consider options that keep workers in valid status inside the United States rather than forcing a stamp-dependent exit.
Who is affected and how severe the consequences are
The stakes are high because H-1B status is tied to a job. Affected workers often have:
- U.S. leases and car payments
- Children in American schools
- Billable-hour obligations for U.S. tech and consulting firms
Potential consequences include:
- Missing payroll or losing billable hours
- Being removed from client work or facing utilization penalties
- Employers invoking “non-availability” clauses or treating absence as job abandonment
- Losing an H-1B role that supports future immigration steps, including green card sponsorship
Many employers may be willing to help, but managers can be uncertain how long they can keep a role open if the employee cannot return.
Loss of alternative stamping options
Alternatives have shrunk for Indian nationals. A September 2025 restriction ended most third-country national processing for H-1B and H-4 categories—closing what many used as an escape valve (for example, stamping in faster posts in Canada or Mexico).
- With third-country processing largely closed, India has become the primary stamping option for many, concentrating demand at the same five consulates now cutting capacity.
- Immigration law firm Morgan Lewis warned clients that global options are “severely constrained,” with longer wait times in many countries and fewer workable fallbacks.
How the rescheduling has played out
The State Department had not provided a public count of affected appointments as of December 11, 2025, but the disruption is evident from applicants’ reports:
- Entire blocks of December appointments disappeared and were replaced by dates months out.
- Often there was no ability to request an earlier slot.
- Consulates rebooked large groups at once to cope with the new screening load.
This rigidity matters because some employers allow remote work only for limited periods, especially when employees handle regulated data or must be physically on client premises.
Practical concerns around the social media requirement
Applicants report practical and privacy questions about the new social media documentation:
- They are being asked to list platforms and identifiers they may no longer use.
- Some worry that old posts could be misread without context.
- Lawyers note the review of public information is not new in spirit, but making it a formal, across-the-board requirement routed through the central continuous-vetting system changes the tempo and workload of processing.
Timing and seasonal impact
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the timing is especially punishing because it collides with peak holiday travel, when many workers fly to India specifically because workplaces slow down and families can visit relatives. What used to be a predictable loop—home, interview, stamp, return—now carries an open-ended risk.
The risk falls hardest on workers whose projects require physical presence in the United States.
Wider policy backdrop and worker sentiment
The broader policy environment has also increased anxiety among H-1B holders. Recent debates and proposals include:
- A $100,000 fee for certain new entrants from abroad
- Proposed changes to the H-1B lottery
- Stepped-up employer enforcement
Even if these issues are separate from the consular delays, applicants report a changed mood: small rule changes can quickly become life-changing, and mistiming a trip can mean months away from home.
Practical guidance and official resources
For workers deciding what to do, official consular wait times and appointment availability are posted by the U.S. State Department at the visa wait-time page: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
Important notes:
- Stranded applicants say the numbers on the website don’t always reflect what they see in inboxes, because consulates are rebooking large groups at once.
- The new screening step and the continuous-vetting review can trigger extra review beyond what wait-time pages indicate.
Quick summary of key facts
- Affected posts: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata
- Dates of rescheduling notices reported: December 9–11, 2025
- New requirement effective: December 15, 2025 — five years of social media history for all H-1B and H-4 applicants
- Typical new appointment windows reported: March–May 2026 or later
- Alternatives (third-country stamping) largely restricted since September 2025
If you are planning travel for visa stamping, consider the possible need to delay travel, coordinate remote-work plans with employers, and monitor official updates on the State Department visa wait-time page: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
US consulates in India have pushed H-1B and H-4 visa interviews into early 2026, causing major disruptions for workers during the holiday season. The delays are linked to a new requirement for five years of social media history and centralized vetting. With third-country stamping options mostly closed, many workers risk job loss and family separation. Legal experts recommend delaying travel and prioritizing remote work arrangements until appointments stabilize.
