Klasko attorneys are tracking two Department of State (DOS) developments that may affect H-1B/H-4 travelers and visa holders this winter: visa appointment disruptions tied to expanded screening and an increase in visa revocation notices reportedly linked to prior arrest history.
Rescheduling of H-1B Appointments in India Impact Holiday Travel Plans
Last week, we reported on new social media vetting procedures being applied to H-1B/H-4 visa applicants by the Department of State. Our firm has now received reports that many H-1B and H-4 visa appointments scheduled in India for December 2025 have been canceled. Applicants are receiving notices that their appointments are being rescheduled by as many as three months, with new appointments in February and March 2026. These reports come from U.S. Consulates in Hyderabad and Chennai so far, and we anticipate further cancellations and rescheduling at other posts in India and elsewhere.
Notices sent to applicants explain that the cancellation of appointments and the monthslong delay in rescheduling were tied to the implementation of the new social media vetting policy. Since the policy requires consular officers to spend more time on each application, the consulates have severely reduced daily appointment capacity.
Affected H-1B visa applicants and their dependents should anticipate rescheduling delays due to lengthy online presence checks and any potential security-related indicators and plan their future travel accordingly.
The U.S. Consulate notices further indicate that applicants are generally permitted to reschedule only after the initial appointment is set. They also suggest that the appointment system may be treating some Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee receipts as expired if the fee was paid more than one year ago. Therefore, if a receipt is flagged as expired, the portal may not allow rescheduling and may warn that canceling the appointment, or failing to appear, could result in forfeiture of the fee.
Suggested Actions:
- If you have an H-1B visa interview scheduled at any consulate, but particularly at a consulate in India, on or after 12/15/2025, closely monitor email/portal messages and save screenshots of any rescheduling notices.
- If you have not left the United States and do not have a valid visa in your passport, consider delaying your departure from the United States until the consulate has confirmed that your visa appointment has not been rescheduled. As we do not have information about how long it will take the consulates to cancel all visa appointments they need to, we suggest monitoring your appointment date closely for the next two weeks before leaving the United States.
- If you have already traveled internationally to attend a visa appointment and your appointment is canceled and rescheduled, there may be very few options for you to return to the United States if you require a new nonimmigrant visa stamp, given current restrictions on how and where people may apply for United States visas.
While these first reports originated from applicants to the U.S. Consulates in Hyderabad and Chennai, we anticipate that similar rescheduling practices will expand to other U.S. consular posts as screening protocols are implemented. We will keep tracking these developments and will share updates as we learn more.
Increase in H-1B Visa Revocation Notices Based on Prior Arrests (Including Older Matters)
Our firm has also received reports that DOS has initiated visa revocation actions for some H-1B visa holders based on prior arrest history, including arrests that occurred years ago (there are some reports reaching back to 2017). Visa revocations do not necessarily impact lawful status in the United States, but are a serious concern.
In cases reported to date, individuals receiving visa revocations have had some interaction with the criminal justice system, such as an arrest or citation. The underlying criminal charges may still be in process, or may have been resolved years ago. Even where H-1B visa holders may have pled guilty to charges, many such charges do not form a basis to deport a person from the United States. These visa revocations, however, indicate that a consulate abroad will have to review the arrest history before issuing a new visa to the individual.
A key point is that DOS usually describes the revocation action as a “prudential” revocation. A prudential revocation generally means that DOS has rendered the H-1B visa stamp unusable for travel based on a suspected eligibility issue, even if DOS has not issued a final determination of ineligibility. Because a visa stamp is a travel and entry document, prudential revocation does not legally take effect until the first time after the revocation that the person departs the United States. As such, a prudential revocation prevents the individual from using that visa to seek admission to the United States, but does not limit them or change their immigration status until the individual leaves the United States.
A prudential visa revocation does mean that the individual will generally need to apply for a new visa at a U.S. consulate before any future travel to the United States and should expect heightened scrutiny and potential delays in visa processing (and, if the revocation is discovered while abroad, it may prevent return travel until a new visa appointment is available). Depending on the underlying issue, if an H-1B visa is revoked, the individual may need a case-specific strategy before any international travel.
Suggested Actions (if this might apply):
- If you are on an H-1B visa and have any arrest/charge history (even if dismissed/expunged), consult your Klasko attorney before visa stamping or international travel.
- If you receive a DOS revocation notice, do not ignore it. Keep the notice, and confirm your current U.S. status. If an H-1B visa is prudentially revoked, the safest posture is usually no international travel until counsel reviews the notice and your full history, and you have a plan for how to reapply for a new visa (or whether to address underlying issues first).
- If you learn your visa was revoked while abroad, do not attempt re-entry to the U.S. on the revoked visa. Contact an immigration attorney promptly to (a) confirm the revocation, (b) assess whether any exception could apply, and (c) prepare the strongest possible new visa application with the right supporting records and a travel plan.
We will continue to monitor these reported developments and share updates as more information becomes available.
For case-specific guidance on travel planning, stamping strategy, rescheduling visa appointments, or responding to a revocation notice, we encourage you to contact your Klasko attorney or reach out to our team. Request a consultation here.
The material contained in this alert does not constitute direct legal advice and is for informational purposes only. An attorney-client relationship is not presumed or intended by receipt or review of this presentation. The information provided should never replace informed counsel when specific immigration-related guidance is needed.
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