The US State Department’s new regulation mandating social media checks for H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents has caused significant disruption in India, leading to the cancellation of many visa interviews and their rescheduling until March of the following year.
The US Embassy in India released an advisory on Tuesday informing H-1B applicants that the new instructions would take effect immediately and that interviews scheduled for mid to late December are being postponed. The change requires applicants to keep their social media accounts accessible to the public for officials to assess posts, connections, and activities starting December 15.
Impact and Lawyer Reactions
While the Embassy has not confirmed the exact number of interviews impacted, lawyers in the United States confirmed the scale of the slowdown, expressing frustration over the lack of predictability:
- Rescheduling Confirmed: Steven Brown, an attorney at Reddy Neumann Brown PC, confirmed, “Mission India confirms what we have been hearing. They have cancelled a number of appointments in the coming weeks and rescheduled them for March to allow for the social media vetting.”
- Unpredictability: Emily Neumann, another partner at the firm, stressed that the visa stamping process has become an unpredictable “maze,” creating “real challenges for businesses and employees who need to travel.”
Key Applicant Information
- New Appointments: Interviews scheduled for late December have been postponed to March.
- Admittance Denied: Applicants who received a rescheduling notice but arrive on their original interview date will be denied entry to the Embassy or Consulate.
- Screening Criteria: Officials will use social media data to evaluate whether an applicant may be deemed inadmissible or present a security threat.