In a rare public rebuke, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday confirmed that it has "formally flagged" the abrupt cancellation of thousands of pre-scheduled H-1B visa interviews to the United States Government and is now in daily contact with the US Embassy in New Delhi and the State Department in Washington.
Indian officials say the cancellations began on 15 December and peaked this week, with many applicants receiving e-mails pushing their interviews to May 2026 or later. Most of those affected are highly-skilled professionals who travelled home for year-end holidays and planned to renew their visas before returning to U.S. jobs in January. Without a stamped visa in their passports, they are legally barred from boarding a flight back to the United States, leaving families separated and project start-dates in limbo.
During the MEA’s weekly press briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said visa delays are “ultimately a sovereign decision of the issuing country,” but stressed that the scale of disruption has created “hardship for Indian nationals and their employers.” He confirmed that the embassy has already shared a consolidated list of urgent humanitarian and business-critical cases with U.S. consular sections and requested temporary interview-waiver slots or pop-up sessions to clear the logjam.
![India flags mass cancellation of pre-scheduled H-1B visa interviews; MEA launches diplomatic push with Washington]()
Amid this uncertainty, visa facilitation platforms such as VisaHQ can help applicants track appointment availability, assemble required documentation, and even identify alternative consular posts for stamping. The India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers step-by-step guidance and real-time updates—resources that can prove invaluable for professionals racing to reschedule their H-1B interviews while staying compliant with evolving U.S. procedures.
Indian technology and consulting firms are urging the Government to secure predictable H-1B processing because the New Year is traditionally used to rotate offshore staff onto U.S. client sites. Nasscom, the IT industry association, estimates that each month of delay costs Indian IT exporters nearly USD 120 million in billable revenue. HR managers are drawing up contingency plans, including remote work extensions and reallocation of projects to near-shore centres in Canada and Mexico.
For assignees, experts advise carrying evidence of ongoing U.S. employment, maintaining valid I-797 approvals, and monitoring the US TravelDocs portal for earlier appointment openings, which are occasionally released at short notice. Immigration lawyers predict that unless additional interview officers are deployed, the ripple effects could extend through the 2026 cap-season, making early planning essential for companies moving talent between India and the United States.
Indian officials say the cancellations began on 15 December and peaked this week, with many applicants receiving e-mails pushing their interviews to May 2026 or later. Most of those affected are highly-skilled professionals who travelled home for year-end holidays and planned to renew their visas before returning to U.S. jobs in January. Without a stamped visa in their passports, they are legally barred from boarding a flight back to the United States, leaving families separated and project start-dates in limbo.
During the MEA’s weekly press briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said visa delays are “ultimately a sovereign decision of the issuing country,” but stressed that the scale of disruption has created “hardship for Indian nationals and their employers.” He confirmed that the embassy has already shared a consolidated list of urgent humanitarian and business-critical cases with U.S. consular sections and requested temporary interview-waiver slots or pop-up sessions to clear the logjam.
Amid this uncertainty, visa facilitation platforms such as VisaHQ can help applicants track appointment availability, assemble required documentation, and even identify alternative consular posts for stamping. The India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers step-by-step guidance and real-time updates—resources that can prove invaluable for professionals racing to reschedule their H-1B interviews while staying compliant with evolving U.S. procedures.
Indian technology and consulting firms are urging the Government to secure predictable H-1B processing because the New Year is traditionally used to rotate offshore staff onto U.S. client sites. Nasscom, the IT industry association, estimates that each month of delay costs Indian IT exporters nearly USD 120 million in billable revenue. HR managers are drawing up contingency plans, including remote work extensions and reallocation of projects to near-shore centres in Canada and Mexico.
For assignees, experts advise carrying evidence of ongoing U.S. employment, maintaining valid I-797 approvals, and monitoring the US TravelDocs portal for earlier appointment openings, which are occasionally released at short notice. Immigration lawyers predict that unless additional interview officers are deployed, the ripple effects could extend through the 2026 cap-season, making early planning essential for companies moving talent between India and the United States.
