Don't travel to India: Experts warn H-1B visa holders amid interview rescheduling

Immigration attorneys have advised Indian H-1B visa holders to avoid travelling to India after a mass postponement of visa interviews in the country. With a last-minute message, the US put off interviews in India, scheduled for December, to March and April 2026. Immigration experts said travelling by H-1B visa holders could cost them their jobs as several American companies cannot legally allow prolonged work from home from outside the US.

Hundreds of H-1B visa holders reportedly travelled to India to appear for their interviews scheduled in December at consular offices, but they have now received last-minute emails that their appointment dates have been rescheduled to March, April, or May 2026, causing chaos among visa applicants.

The postponing of interviews was announced a week after the US State Department stated it would begin social media screening of H-1B applicants and family members on dependent visas, expanding the review of online profiles that initially began with student visa holders earlier this year.

Immigration expert Rahul Reddy warned that travelling now could leave H-1B workers jobless and separated from their families.

"Do not travel internationally for visa stamping unless you already have a valid visa in your passport," he advised H-1B visa holders.

"Employers cannot keep an H-1B role vacant for half a year. Many cannot legally allow remote work from outside the United States due to export-control, payroll, and tax restrictions. This reality means one thing: if an H-1B worker travels now, they may return not to their job but to unemployment," Rahul Reddy, the founding partner of US-based immigration firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC, said.

H-1B VISA HOLDERS ALREADY IN INDIA HAVE TO WAIT: EXPERT

Another immigration attorney from the same firm, Rebecca Chen, advised that even those who have not received an email should postpone travel to India for now.

People who are already in India and need visa stamping before they can return to the US now have no choice but to wait, according to Rebecca Chen.

According to immigration attorneys, one needs a visa stamp to re-enter the US. So, if a visa holder is already in the US, the person should avoid travelling for visa stamping. Do not travel to India for stamping even if your appointment date has not been rescheduled, as the stamping is to enter the US and does not determine your legal status in the US, according to a report in The Times of India.

Applicants who travelled to India for their visa appointments, only to have their dates pushed to 2026, have no choice but to wait in India.

US POSTPONED H-1B VISA INTERVIEWS IN INDIA AMID SOCIAL MEDIA VETTING RULE

The US postponed H-1B visa interviews in India at the last minute, causing chaos. The development comes days after the US State Department asked H-1B and H-4 visa applicants to make their social media accounts public.

The State Department last week announced that it would begin social media screening of H-1B applicants and family members on dependent visas, expanding review of online profiles that initially began with student visa holders earlier this year.

Interviews scheduled between mid- and late-December are being pushed back as late as next summer, multiple attorneys told Bloomberg.

This will affect many Indians working in the US, as those seeking to renew their visa stamps could face months-long delays in returning while they wait for new appointments.

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