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H-1B visa appointment delays leave many Indians stuck, sparks frustrations; ‘how are you planning…’
H-1B and H-4 visa applicants in India are facing delays in appointment scheduling as the Trump administration has started an expanded social media vetting.
Visa appointment slots have become a source of worry for H-1B visa holders in India. Several applicants are reportedly facing massive delays as the State Department has started an expanded social media vetting as of December 15, 2025.
The move has impacted H-1B and H-4 visa holders the most in India, and comes amid the Donald Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. It has gotten to a point where frustrations have spilled over as many have taken to social media to discuss the delays. One post from an Indian H-1B visa holder on Reddit has garnered a fair amount of attention with others describing their ordeals due to the visa appointment delays.
The post was made on a visa scheduling subreddit two days back. “Came to India for parental leave and I need to get visa stamped but never got an appointment. I keep looking and it's always saying no slots no slots,” the person remarked.
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The individual added that they'd observed December and January slots had been moved to May, while appointments in February and later had not been moved as much. They continued “no one is seeing new appointment slots” and further claimed that ‘emergency appointment requests have already gone into March.’
Indian H-1B visa holder poses question amid delays
Amid delays, the visa holder asked “If you're stuck here, how are you planning the rest of the year?”. The person added that they did not ‘want to be disappointed, just prepared’, amid reports of massive delays.
“Should I be hopeful for new bulk slots to open up for Feb / march? Or do we think it will go into later parts of the year?,” they also questioned.
Reactions to post on appointment delays
The Redditor's post struck a nerve with several reactions pouring in. One person apparently going through a similar situation said “In the same boat. Came for a wedding and now stuck here. Finally coming to terms with the fact that I’m here for the long haul and trying to do build a routine here. Setting up home office.”
Another remarked “my employer already shifted me to India payroll. Not sure when new lots going to open.”
Yet another lodged a complaint, saying “Want to travel but could not due to slots not being available. Keeping a check for lost since December but have not been able to see any openings.” HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of these claims.
The State Department has made it clear to The Washington Post in a statement that the focus is now on more extensive checks than expedited ones for visa applicants. Just today, it was announced that the US is suspending the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Pakistan, Russia and Iran.
