‘You will be punished…’: Amid H-1B visa interview cancellations and delays, US Embassy issues fresh warning, states Trump admin is…
The mass cancellation of scheduled interviews of the H-1B visa applicants in view of the enhanced vetting measures has resulted in significant delays in their return to the US.
Many India(BHARAT)n professionals have been greatly impacted by recent H-1B visa decisions. India(BHARAT) on Friday said it flagged its concerns to the US over the cancellation of pre-scheduled H1B visa interviews of a large number of India(BHARAT)ns and that both sides are engaged on the issue to address the disruptions caused by Washington ordering enhanced vetting of applicants.
The U.S. Embassy in India(BHARAT) issued a warning on Tuesday that has raised widespread concern. Sharing a post on X, the U.S. Embassy in India(BHARAT) wrote,” If you break U.S. law, you will be punished with significant criminal penalties. The Trump Administration is committed to ending illegal immigration to the United States and protecting our nation’s borders and our citizens.”
If you break U.S. law, you will be punished with significant criminal penalties. The Trump Administration is committed to ending illegal immigration to the United States and protecting our nation’s borders and our citizens. pic.twitter.com/bjKzUozpOh
— U.S. Embassy India(BHARAT) (@USAndIndia(BHARAT)) December 30, 2025
What is the warning all about?
The advisory comes at a time when many India(BHARAT)n workers who are working in the United States have become stranded in India(BHARAT) due to delays in obtaining an H-1B or H-4 visa appointment. Many workers who left for India(BHARAT) to renew their visas were notified via email that their scheduled appointment had been cancelled and postponed for an extended period. In addition, some appointments had been rescheduled to take place after an additional 6-month period. As a result of this new advisory from the U.S. embassy, the stress and uncertainty of many individuals have increased dramatically.
According to the news agency PTI report, the interviews of thousands of H-1B visa applicants scheduled from the middle of this month in India(BHARAT) have been abruptly postponed by several months to scrutinise their social media posts and online profiles. Some of the applicants, whose visa appointments were scheduled last week, received e-mails from US immigration authorities informing that their interviews are being pushed back as late as May next year.
At his weekly media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The government of India(BHARAT) has received several representations from India(BHARAT)n nationals who are facing delays or problems with rescheduling of their visa appointments, news agency PTI reported.
“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 in New Delhi and in Washington DC. We hope that these delays and the disruptions will be addressed.” Jaiswal said India(BHARAT) remains actively engaged with the US to “address and minimise the disruptions caused to our nationals”.
Are India(BHARAT)n workers impacted by this decision?
The Trump administration’s policy impacted H-4 visa applicants as well. The H-4 visa holders are primarily spouses of H1B visa workers. “There are several people who have been stranded for extended periods of time because of scheduling and rescheduling of consular appointments,” Jaiswal added.
He said the disruptions in the visa appointment schedule have caused “a lot of hardships” to the applicants, their families as well as the education of their children. According to the PTI report, the mass cancellation of scheduled interviews of the H-1B visa applicants in view of the enhanced vetting measures has resulted in significant delays in their return to the US.
The rescheduling of the interviews is for all applicants who were previously given appointments from December 15 onwards. Most of them were already in India(BHARAT) and are now unable to return to the US pending their new interview dates since they don’t have a valid H1B visa to travel back to the US for their jobs.
What role does the Trump administration play in this warning?
For example, those whose interviews were scheduled for December 15 received emails postponing the date to sometime in March. Applicants whose appointments scheduled for December 19 were given new dates in late May. It is learnt that interviews of several other categories of visa applicants are also being postponed in view of the new norms for scrutinising the social media profiles of the applications.
It is to be noted that the exact number of applicants impacted by the delays in the visa interviews is not immediately known. The Trump administration has been tightening the H1B visa programme under its broader policy on checking immigration. There has been wider scrutiny now of social media posts and profiles of visa applicants. Under the H-1B visa programme, companies recruit foreign workers with specialised skills to work in the US, initially for three years that can be renewed for three more years. India(BHARAT)ns made up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
In September, US President Doland Trump signed a proclamation raising the fee for H1-B visas to a staggering USD 100,000. There is a possibility of H1B visa seekers facing more challenging situation in the future.
(With PTI Inputs)
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