The government of the United States, U.S, has reportedly delayed numerous H-1B and H-4 visa interviews across the globe.
It was gathered that the U.S Department of State has been sending notices to several H-1B and H-4 visa applicants, informing them of the delay and rescheduling of their interviews.
According to reports, the U.S delayed H-1B and H-4 visa interviews till around March 2026 over the government’s new mandatory, stringent online presence review for these non-immigrant categories.
The development comes following the expansion of an intensified vetting protocol, effective December 15, 2025. This policy requires H-1B specialty occupation workers and their H-4 dependents to make all their social media and other digital accounts public for review by consular officers. Platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, along with any other online presence, must be accessible to officers who will scrutinize the content for a variety of concerns.
Consular emails shared by applicants confirm that the U.S delayed H-1 B and H-4 visa interviews to adjust their schedules to prepare for the administration’s new online presence review that begins on December 15.
According to the messages sent out this week, posts expect to interview fewer H-1B and H-4 applicants per day once the new checks begin. To avoid backlogs inside consulates, officials are cancelling upcoming interviews and shifting applicants to later dates that match the anticipated pace of the revised workflow.
The sudden drop in available appointments is disrupting plans for many workers and families who arranged travel, employment start dates, and re-entry to the United States based on their original December slots.
A U.S. business immigration attorney, James Hollis, has reacted to the development, expressing his frustration, noting on LinkedIn that the timing of the policy shift could not be more disruptive. He pointed out that the rollout overlaps with the holiday period, a time when many Indian professionals travel home specifically to complete their visa stamping.
According to him, the sudden rescheduling has left countless applicants scrambling to adjust their plans at the last minute.
“I’m shaking my head about the reports coming out about H-1B visa appointment cancellations in India. The reports are that there have been a significant number of appointments cancelled, and applicants have been directed to reschedule the visa interview aspect of the appointment, with ASC appointments initially remaining the same. The affected appointments are on or after Dec. 15, and applicants who are impacted are receiving emails from the post indicating that they should reschedule,” Hollis wrote on LinkedIn.
“The reasoning for the cancellations is that the new social media vetting policy requires implementation time and review time for the posts, and the posts have had to reduce their available appointments to accommodate the change,” Hollis further added.
Anshuman Jha, an AI consultant, also weighed in on the broader fallout for H-1B workers. In a LinkedIn post, he wrote, “H-1B visa applicants face new social media screening. A major shift for global talent mobility: starting 15 December, all H-1B and H-4 applicants must make their social media accounts public for review.”
Recall that the U.S Department of State had announced that starting December 15, every H-1B worker and H-4 dependent will undergo mandatory social media screening. As part of the process, applicants will need to make their social media profiles publicly viewable so consular officers can review their activity.
The new rules also require applicants to list all usernames or IDs they have used on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, even if those accounts have been inactive for years.
