The United States has abruptly postponed H-1B visa interviews in India that were scheduled for later this month, creating widespread confusion among applicants who were preparing for their appointments. The US Embassy in India issued a late-night advisory informing applicants that their interviews had been rescheduled and that they would not be allowed into the Embassy or Consulates if they arrived on their original dates. The timing of the decision has prompted immediate speculation about whether this disruption is linked to the Biden administration’s expanded social-media vetting requirements for work visa holders.
According to multiple immigration attorneys and email notices reviewed by Bloomberg Law, the postponements are indeed tied to the State Department’s new rules requiring social-media screening for H-1B and H-4 visa applicants. The revised policy, announced last week, mandates that applicants must make all their social-media accounts public so that consular officers can review posts, comments, and online activity going back several years. The rule takes effect on December 15, 2025, but the preparatory work for enforcing it appears to have already strained the system, prompting the rescheduling of interviews. Several attorneys said appointments from mid-December to late December have been pushed as far as next summer, raising fears of prolonged delays for thousands of Indian workers seeking visa renewals.
Indians constitute the largest group of H-1B holders in the United States, and many depend on timely visa stamping in India to return to their jobs. With appointments now postponed indefinitely for some, travel plans, work obligations, and family schedules have been thrown into disarray. The State Department has not clarified whether all interviews this month will be rescheduled or whether the delays apply only to specific locations or cohorts.
This widened scrutiny is part of a broader effort by the US government to expand digital background checks across major visa categories. The new rule requires applicants for H-1B, H-4, F, M, and J visas to adjust all social-media accounts to public visibility to allow officers to review posts for any content deemed “negative” toward the US. Officials have argued that “every visa adjudication is a national security decision” and have framed the expanded checks as essential to ensuring applicants pose no threat and will comply with the terms of their stay.
The heightened vetting of online activity follows other recent actions by the Trump administration. Hundreds of international students—including several Indians—had their visas revoked for online posts or participation in campus activities perceived as sympathetic to Hamas. Immigration authorities have reportedly tested an AI-driven tool called “Catch and Revoke” to identify social-media content critical of the US government, institutions, or values. These steps form part of a larger crackdown on immigration channels that includes proposals to overhaul the H-1B lottery and a $100,000 fee for certain new H-1B entrants.
While the US government has defended the tightened checks as necessary for security, the sudden postponement of interviews in India highlights the operational strain and uncertainty surrounding the rollout. For now, Indian H-1B applicants face a prolonged wait, and many may not be able to return to the US for months unless interview slots reopen sooner.
