After a months-long freeze that pushed some interview dates into 2027, US consular posts in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata quietly opened new appointment batches for H-1B work visas and F-1 student visas on 28 April, according to a report by Gujarat Samachar. The rollout, confirmed by multiple immigration lawyers, follows the State Department’s additional social-media-vetting rules introduced in December 2025 that slowed processing and led to mass rescheduling.
![US Consulates in India Begin Releasing New H-1B and F-1 Interview Slots—but Backlogs Persist]()
VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can step in here, too: the platform tracks real-time appointment availability across all five U.S. consulates, helps applicants spot earlier openings, and offers document-review services to minimize the risk of last-minute DS-160 amendments—features that save both employees and university advisers hours of manual checking.
While the latest release offers relief to thousands of Indian tech workers stranded at home, inventory remains thin: Mumbai showed just 120 H-1B dates through August, and most F-1 slots were snapped up within hours. Corporate mobility teams should advise employees to keep DS-160 forms and supporting documents updated in the appointment portal; any change after submission requires a new slot. Employers should also prepare for staggered project start-dates—consultancies report that US clients are increasingly allowing remote onboarding for India-based talent until visas are issued. For universities, the timing is critical. Fall 2026 intake deposits are due in May, and institutions fear yield losses if students cannot secure interviews by July. Some schools are arranging group appointments through EducationUSA, but capacity caps remain. The US embassy has not issued an official statement, and practitioners warn that sudden technical glitches may still occur. Applicants are urged to enable SMS alerts and consider paying the higher “priority” VAC fee if travel timelines are tight.
VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can step in here, too: the platform tracks real-time appointment availability across all five U.S. consulates, helps applicants spot earlier openings, and offers document-review services to minimize the risk of last-minute DS-160 amendments—features that save both employees and university advisers hours of manual checking.
While the latest release offers relief to thousands of Indian tech workers stranded at home, inventory remains thin: Mumbai showed just 120 H-1B dates through August, and most F-1 slots were snapped up within hours. Corporate mobility teams should advise employees to keep DS-160 forms and supporting documents updated in the appointment portal; any change after submission requires a new slot. Employers should also prepare for staggered project start-dates—consultancies report that US clients are increasingly allowing remote onboarding for India-based talent until visas are issued. For universities, the timing is critical. Fall 2026 intake deposits are due in May, and institutions fear yield losses if students cannot secure interviews by July. Some schools are arranging group appointments through EducationUSA, but capacity caps remain. The US embassy has not issued an official statement, and practitioners warn that sudden technical glitches may still occur. Applicants are urged to enable SMS alerts and consider paying the higher “priority” VAC fee if travel timelines are tight.
