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India has flagged the issue of delays or problems with the rescheduling of visa appointments of Indian nationals with the United States amid recent changes in the process for H1B visas and hoped that these delays and disruptions will be addressed.
Answering queries during the weekly press conference concering delays in H1B processing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the government remains actively engaged with the US side to address and minimize the disruptions that have been caused to Indian nationals. He said there are several people who have been stranded for an extended period of time because of scheduling or rescheduling issues of consular appointments. "And these have also caused a lot of hardships to their families, to the family life that they have, as also to the education of their children, as you would understand," Jaiswal said. The Spokesperson said that the government has received several representations from Indian nationals who are facing delays or problems with the rescheduling of their visa appointments. "While we do understand, as you also understand, that visa-related issues pertain to the sovereign domain of any country, we have flagged these issues and our concerns of our nationals to the US side, both here in New Delhi and in Washington DC. And we hope that these delays and these disruptions will be addressed," he said. Jaiswal said there was a communication from the US Government also that, with effect from December 15, they have expanded their review process or processes, which covers specialty occupation temporary H-1B visa applicants. "It also is applicable to the dependents who are covered under H-4 category visa. This particular change that they have introduced is applicable globally to all countries. On our side, the Government of India remains actively engaged with the US side to address and minimize the disruptions that have been caused to our nationals," he said. The United States earlier this month expanded its review of social media and online presence to cover all H-1B specialty occupation workers and their H-4 dependents. Several applicants in India received emails informing them that their visa appointments had been rescheduled. In a statement, a US Embassy spokesperson explained that the Department of State already conducts online presence checks for student and exchange visitor visa categories such as F, M, and J. Starting December 15, this review will also include H-1B and H-4 applicants. This came after the Trump administration's recent move to make social media screening mandatory for all H-1B and H-4 applicants. This decision added fresh uncertainty for thousands of workers and families. The spokesperson further said that the Department of State "regularly shifts appointments as needed to match resource availability" and directly informs affected applicants of any changes. The clarification followed a public advisory issued by Mission in India on X. The State Department announced earlier this month that it would begin social media screening for all H-1B applicants and their dependent family members. Officials described the online review as part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to detect misuse of foreign-worker visas. (ANI)
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