The situation has also triggered panic among H-1B holders whose visa stamping is still valid but nearing expiry
Hyderabad: Indian H-1B holders are facing fresh uncertainty, as their visa application appointment dates, as well as those holding H-4 papers, at the US consulates have been rescheduled once again. Appointments that were booked for December and January next have been pushed far beyond expectations to 2027, forcing them rearrange travel schedules and upend their plans.
Application appointment dates were moved first to April 2026, then between September and October, and have now been pushed to Ferbruary and March of 2027, a full year after the original date.
The repeated changes and pushbacks have caused serious stress for thousands of skilled workers, many of whom had travelled to India specifically for visa stamping after carefully planning leave from their jobs in the United States. Several applicants, their dates falling more than a year after their original appointment, are left with no option but to seek emergency appointments or urgently return to the US before their current visa stamping expires.
An H-1B holder currently in India, who requested not to be named, said that the situation had turned his life upside down. “My stamping expires in February 2026 so I booked my initial appointment for December. I came back to India for my stamping and even got my biometric done, and suddenly the date was rescheduled to April 2026. I was already feeling the heat, when they again rescheduled the date and pushed the appointment to November of 2026, and then to February 2027.”
“I cannot stay in India for that long. My stamping expires soon, and my employer expects me back. I'll return to the US for now before my stamping expires, and will come back in 2027 before my appointment date, if that doesn't get rescheduled again”, the applicant said.
Another H-1B professional and their dependant with an H-4 visa said that their appointments had been moved to March 2027. “This is extremely stressful. I booked my slot early and came to India for stamping, and then the rescheduling happens. And now my spouse and I have to wait for more than a year”, the applicant said.
Several applicants are now looking at booking emergency appointments. Emergency appointment slots, however, are limited and are granted only under specific conditions. Many applicants say they are refreshing appointment portals daily, hoping for a cancellation or approval.
An H-4 applicant said “I am attempting to book an emergency appointment now. My stamping expired a month ago but I couldn't travel back then for stamping as I was pregnant. I booked an appointment now for January 2026, but that has been rescheduled to the end of next year. I'm booking an emergency appointment as my newborn baby needs vaccination in India.”
The situation has also triggered panic among H-1B holders whose visa stamping is still valid but nearing expiry. An H-1B professional said that she was now rushing back to the United States to avoid getting stuck in India.
“My employer said they cannot afford a work-from-home set-up for me for more than a year. My stamping expires soon, and seeing what others are going through, I cannot take the risk. I am flying back immediately and will try to manage stamping at a later stage when the appointment happens” she said.
