Following the recent policy change by the Trump administration of mandatory social media screening (effective December 15) of all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants (spouse and dependent children of the H-1B visa holder), these individuals face a new disruption.Immigration attorneys report that interview slots at U.S. consulates scheduled for mid- to late December 2025 have been cancelled, including those in India, such as the consulates in Hyderabad and Chennai. The interviews have been postponed for several months; In many cases they have been postponed until March of next year.
Illustrating their clients’ woes, immigration lawyers told TOI that some were those who are now stranded and taking up new jobs, others were visiting India but needed a stamp – they were on a short visit to attend a wedding or to drop off their parents, who normally return to India during the winter season. TOI, in its December 5 edition, covered the new policy announced by the US Department of State (DoS) that all H-1B workers and their H-4 dependents will undergo mandatory social media monitoring starting December 15. Applicants were required to change their social media accounts to “public” settings to allow scrutiny.The consequence: Consulates reportedly plan to interview fewer applicants each day, with reduced capacity cited as the main reason for the widespread cancellation of existing appointments, one immigration lawyer said.Immigration law firms are issuing alerts that any foreign national planning international travel should not proceed unless urgent. Additionally, cases of visa revocation of those already in the US based on social media posts are also emerging sporadically.It is worth remembering that on May 27, the State Department stopped scheduling new interviews for student and exchange visitor visas (categories F, M, J). This was while DoS reviewed and updated its online presence and social media assessment for international students. The freeze was lifted in June, but under stricter social media vetting guidelines.Also read: US to scan social media of all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants starting December 15For H-1Bs and their family members who are now subject to the social media screening guidelines, no freeze has been announced. But delaying the interview date by several months has the same consequences, according to state immigration attorneys.
