00:00The U.S. visa system has slammed the brakes hard.
00:27No new H-1B stamping dates appear to be available for the rest of this calendar year.
00:35And for thousands of Indian professionals, interview appointments are now being pushed.
00:42Not months, but all the way to 2027.
00:47Across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, regular visa interview slots have effectively vanished,
00:55triggering chaos for workers, families, and employers across the United States.
01:02According to immigration experts, there is little hope of near-term relief.
01:07The U.S. State Department's own website now lists the waiting period for petition-based visas,
01:13including H, L, and O categories, as simply not available in major Indian consulates.
01:20Applicants who had interviews scheduled for January and February say they received emails
01:27abruptly deferring their appointments to April or May of 2027, adding years of uncertainty overnight.
01:37The growing pileup coincides with major changes to the H-1B program under the Trump administration.
01:44On December 29, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published new rules for fiscal year 2027.
01:55While the annual cap remains at 85,000 visas, including 20,000 for U.S. postgraduate degree holders,
02:03the process has become slower, stricter, and far more opaque.
02:07For applicants, the cap staying the same offers little comfort when interviews are years away.
02:16The delays are being worsened by broader shifts in U.S. visa policy.
02:22Mandatory social media screening has been introduced for applicants,
02:26increasing review times and sharply reducing the number of interviews consulates can process each day.
02:32At the same time, the U.S. has largely ended third-country visa stamping,
02:38forcing Indian applicants worldwide to rely solely on consulates in India,
02:44overwhelming an already strained system.
02:50Immigration attorneys say the situation is unprecedented.
02:54Attorney Emily Newman says she has not heard of a single new H-1B interview slot opening for India in the last 50 days.
03:03Her advice to H-1B holders already in the U.S. is blunt.
03:08Don't leave.
03:09She said they are not in any hurry to give you a visa,
03:12adding that denials are becoming more common
03:15and the current administration is far less willing to issue approvals than in previous years.
03:21The pressure doesn't stop at delays.
03:24The U.S. State Department is also revoking visas under what it calls prudential authority.
03:29H-4 dependents are reportedly losing visas due to issues tied to their H-1B spouses,
03:38leaving families separated and futures on hold.
03:41For many Indian professionals, the American dream is now caught in bureaucratic limbo.
03:47What was once a predictable, if competitive, pathway to working in the United States
03:55has become a waiting game measured in years.
03:59With no new stamping dates, interviews pushed to 2027,
04:03and policies growing tighter by the day,
04:06thousands of skilled Indian workers are left frozen in place.
04:10And for now, the message from the system is clear.
04:13Don't ask when relief is coming,
04:16because no one seems to know if it's coming at all.
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