Indian H-1B visa holders who returned to India this month to renew their US work permits have been left stranded after American consulates abruptly cancelled their appointments and pushed them back by several months, The Washington Post reported, citing three immigration attorneys who handle H-1B cases. The mass cancellation of scheduled interviews of the H-1B visa applicants in view of the enhanced vetting measures is set to result in significant delays in their return to the US. The exact number of applicants impacted by the delays in the visa interviews is not immediately known. The U.S. embassy in India has urged visa applicants not to come to the consular offices based on their previously scheduled interview dates. Trump visa crackdown The Trump administration has moved to further restrict the H-1B visa program as part of its broader immigration enforcement agenda, with heightened scrutiny of visa applicants’ social media posts and online profiles.

Source: Mint December 21, 2025 09:29 UTC