Amid ongoing delays in the scheduling of interviews and appointments for the much-sought after H-1B visas, the Indian government has said that it has conveyed its concerns with the authorities in the US.
The government noted that visa matters fall within the jurisdiction of the respective country, but also acknowledged that many Indian applicants are facing delays and difficulties in securing visa appointments.
"There are several people who have been stranded for extended periods of time because of scheduling or rescheduling of consular appointments, and these have also caused a lot of hardships to their families," Randhir Jaiswal, the minister of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson, said on Friday.
The H-1B visa system has undergone significant changes over the past few months. Any modification to the visa allocation criteria stands to impact Indians the most, as they constitute the largest share of its recipients.
Earlier this month, the Donald Trump-led US administration announced an expanded screening process as part of which the H-1B visa applicants and their dependents would undergo an online presence review. "To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to public," a US release read.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier this month, the Donald Trump-led US administration announced an expanded screening process as part of which the H-1B visa applicants and their dependents would undergo an online presence review. "To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to public," a US release read.
{{/usCountry}}The modification took effect on December 15. After this, several applicants whose appointments were scheduled last week, received e-mails from US immigration authorities informing that their interviews are being pushed back as late as May next year, reported news agency PTI.
Addressing these concerns during the Friday presser, the MEA said that Indian authorities had actively engaged with the US on the issue.
“While we do understand that visa-related issues pertain to the sovereign domain of any country, we have flagged these issues and concerns of our nationals to the US side, both in New Delhi and in Washington DC. We hope that these delays and the disruptions will be addressed,” Jaiswal said.
Reacting to the new online screening rule for the H-1B visa applicants, Jaiswal said: "This particular change that they have introduced is applicable globally to all countries. India remains actively engaged with the US side to address and minimise the disruptions caused to our nationals."
The fresh changes to the H-1B visa allocation are part of the Trump admin's efforts to further tighten regulations related to the hiring of skilled professionals from abroad.
Apart from the expanded screening process introduced this month, the US also slapped a steep fee of $100,000 for first-time H-1B visa applicants a few months back, and replaced the random lottery for selecting recipients with giving greater weight to people with higher skills.