India on Friday stated that it has conveyed its concerns to the United States about the cancellation of pre-scheduled interviews of Indian applicants for H-1B visas, adding that both sides were discussing the matter.
Earlier this month, Washington said that it would expand the vetting of social media profiles to applicants for H-1B visas and their dependents from December 15. As a result, interviews of thousands of H-1B visa applicants in India were abruptly postponed by several months.
Some of the applicants, whose visa appointments were scheduled a week after the announcement on the vetting, received emails from the US immigration authorities informing them that their interviews had been pushed to as late as May.
The rescheduling hurt applicants who were previously given appointments after December 15.
H-1B visas allow companies in the US to temporarily employ foreign workers for special occupations.
Over the past few years, Indians have constituted the majority of H-1B visa holders. Indians comprised 72.3% of all H-1B visas issued by the US in the financial year 2022-’23.
On Friday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that it had received several representations from Indian citizens who were facing delays or problems with the rescheduling of their US visa appointments.
Jaiswal noted that visa-related problems pertain to the sovereign domain of a country. However, he…
Source: India conveys concerns to US about cancellation of H-1B visa interviews
