NEW DELHI: India said on Friday it has conveyed its concerns to the US over the cancellation and rescheduling of H-1B visa appointments for Indian nationals, a move that is understood to have affected thousands of applicants as the Trump administration further tightens regulations related to the hiring of skilled professionals from abroad.
In addition to levying a steep fee of $100,000 for first-time H-1B visa applicants and replacing the random lottery for selecting recipients with giving greater weight to people with higher skills, the US administration expanded the vetting of social media accounts to all applicants for H-1B and H-4 visas from December 15. This change has resulted in the abrupt cancellation of appointments and their rescheduling months later.
“On H-1B visas, the Government of India has received several representations from Indian nationals who are facing delays or problems with the rescheduling of their visa appointments,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.
“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 here in New Delhi and in Washington.”
{{/usCountry}}“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 here in New Delhi and in Washington.”
{{/usCountry}}Pointing to the US administration’s communication on expanding their review processes to the vetting of online presence of applications from December 15, Jaiswal said: “The Government of India remains actively engaged with the US side to address and minimise the disruptions that have been caused to our nationals.”
This particular change applies to applicants for H-1B visas – which allow companies to employ foreign professionals in specialised sectors such as technology, engineering and medicine – and H-4 visas, which are issued to dependents of H-1B visa holders. While there are no official figures, reports have suggested that the changes have affected thousands of Indian nationals, including those who travelled to India to renew their H-1B visas.
In September, India had taken up with the US the fee of $100,000 for H-1B visas on the grounds that the mobility of skilled Indian talent contributes to innovation and economic growth in both countries.
The changes in the H-1B visa regime – the abuse of which President Donald Trump has described as a “national security threat” – and other changes in immigration rules have come against the backdrop of a downturn in India-US relations over the imposition of 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including a punitive levy over Russian oil purchases.
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More than 70% of H-1B applications approved since 2010 have gone to Indian workers. However, the National Foundation for American Policy recently said the number of first-time H-1B visa applications approved for Indian IT companies fell to 4,573 in 2025, the lowest figure in a decade. The figure was down by 70% from the number for 2015 and by 37% when compared to 2024.
Jaiswal said India hopes that delays and disruptions in the H-1B visa application process will be addressed by the US.
“There are several people who have been stranded for an extended period of time because of scheduling or rescheduling of consular appointments and these have also caused a lot of hardship to their families, as also to the education of their children,” he said.
He responded to a separate question on talks between India and the US on a proposed bilateral trade deal by saying that both sides are “engaged with a view to concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement”. He noted that the new US deputy trade representative, Rick Switzer, had travelled to India earlier this month on a familiarisation visit and met several interlocutors.