December 16, 2025 Beginning December 8, 2025, some applicants with H-1B and H-4 visa appointments began receiving notices that their consular interviews scheduled on or after December 15, 2025, were being unilaterally rescheduled, many to March 2026. Some appointments have been rescheduled to June 2026. Consular posts attribute these changes to the Department of State’s implementation of the new online presence review requirement for H-1B applicants and their dependents to reduce the daily interview capacity needed to carry out this expanded vetting. Multiple posts, including Hyderabad and Chennai, have issued notices informing applicants that their original appointment dates cannot be honored due to operational constraints. Applicants are being instructed not to appear on their original date and to attend on the newly issued appointment date instead. While many of the rescheduled appointments are at Mission India posts, AILA has received reports of posts rescheduling appointments in Ireland and Vietnam. For full details, key points, and guidance for clients, click here.
