The visa crisis seems to be getting worse for Indian professionals preparing to work in America. Appointments for hundreds of Indian applicants waiting for H-1B and H-4 visa interviews are now reported to be postponed until October 2026. Earlier these interviews were rescheduled from December 2025 to February–March 2026. Due to continued delays, many applicants are stranded away from their families and their jobs are hanging in the balance.
According to Deccan Chronicle, many applicants said that their interview dates have now been pushed to October next year. Meanwhile, US-based media outlet The American Bazaar has reported that immigration lawyers have also found cases where appointments scheduled for mid-January 2026 were directly postponed to October 2026.
Applicants whose slots have been rescheduled are now said to be requesting those scheduled to have interviews in January and February 2026 to cancel their bookings, so that their cases can be accommodated on the earlier dates. However, there is no official confirmation regarding the success of such efforts.
In recent weeks, U.S. consulates informed a large number of applicants that interviews scheduled for December and January will now take place in February or March. According to US officials, this delay is due to the additional processing time needed due to expanded scrutiny of visa applicants’ social media activities.
Meanwhile, many professionals who are already outside the US are stuck in trouble due to frequent cancellations and changes in dates. Some had already booked international travel, got holidays approved or reached India for visa stamping, only to find later that their appointments had been cancelled. The situation is even more dire for applicants stranded abroad, as they are separated from their families for long periods of time and have limited options for returning to the United States.
“The Department of State routinely changes appointments based on availability of resources. Affected visa applicants will be informed directly of any changes,” a spokesperson for the US Consulate General in Hyderabad was quoted as saying by Deccan Chronicle.
“Direct legal action against cancellations is difficult at this time. A better option may be for affected applicants to ask their employers for remote work or leave of absence,” immigration attorney Sangeeta Mugunthan told The American Bazaar. He also advised that applicants keep all documents safe to avoid possible job or visa related problems.
As information about the new dates spread, concern and anger grew in Indian expatriate groups and online forums. Earlier, proposals to delay F-1 student visas and increase work visa fees had also affected the Indian community. Now with H-1B interviews pushed back to late 2026, many Indian professionals say their careers and family lives are stuck in a state of uncertainty, and the situation shows no signs of improving any time soon.
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