Hundreds of Indians in US at risk of losing jobs as uncertainty looms over H-1B visa appointments

The main reason for cancellation or rescheduling of the H-1B appointment is attributed to the US State Department's new social media vetting policy

Hyderabad: Jobs of several hundred Indians in the United States are at risk as their H-1B visa appointments, which are scheduled between mid to late December, are either being cancelled or rescheduled to March or April next year. This is being done even after the completion of capturing the applicant’s biometric details.

In one such instance, a woman from Hyderabad who completed her studies in a US university returned to India for an H-1B stamping. While her biometrics had been completed on December 8, the physical interview, which was originally scheduled for December 18, has been rescheduled to post April.
In another case, a man who recently travelled to India completed his biometrics in Chennai. However, his appointment, which is scheduled for December 15 in Hyderabad, has been moved to March 12, 2026.

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The main reason for cancellation or rescheduling of the H-1B appointment is attributed to the US State Department’s new social media vetting policy.
The H-1B and their H-4 dependents now have to mandatorily make their social media accounts public, disclose their usernames or IDs used on major platforms, including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, even if the accounts have been inactive in the past five years.

This is being done for the applicants whose appointments are scheduled on or after December 15 to ensure a thorough background check on the applicants.
This sudden announcement and scrutiny have slowed down processing, besides reducing the number of interview slots across US Consular posts, causing inconvenience for applicants who got jobs and travelled to India for H-1B stamping.