There have been no regular slots open for H-1B visa stamping in India in more than the last 100 days and no slots are available in 2026 either.
With no solution to the H-1B crisis arising in India due to delays in visa stamping, the Indian-American community expressed its concern and urged USCIS to stop using Indian immigrants as a tool for political propaganda. Siddhartha, an Indian-origin investor and founder of the Indian-American Advocacy Council, said it has been more than 100 days since a single regular H-1B appointment slot has been released in India. There are five consulates in India with zero availability of regular slots for H-1B visa stamping and the opening dates have now been extended to 2027. “Thousands of people are stranded. Families are broken. Careers are destroyed,” the post reads. “They followed every rule. Filed every form. Paid every fee. And the system is punishing them for meeting their parents,” it said.
What is the current status of visa stamping delays in India?
The crisis began in mid-December 2025 when the new H-1B social media verification rule went into effect. With the time of year-end holidays in mind, many Indians traveled back to the country to get their visa stamping updated. Without this stamp, their visa is not invalidated but they cannot re-enter the US. After traveling to India, he was informed that his appointment dates which were in December 2025, have been postponed to March–April 2026. This happened because the consulate reduced the number of appointments per day as they started checking the social media history of visa holders. This led to a backlog of appointments and the entire 2026 appointments were postponed. The latest update on the situation is that there are no dates open for any regular appointments in 2026.Thousands of H-1B visa holders are stuck in India and there is no clear solution to the situation as even the legal departments of US employers are not sure about what to do with their employees stranded in India. Some companies like Amazon have allowed H-1B visa holders stranded in India due to this crisis to work from India, but this unprecedented situation is creating many complications. Many people are at risk of losing their jobs, property leases, etc. in America