THE Indian Ministry of External Affairs has said it has flagged its concerns to the US over cancellation of pre-scheduled H1B visa interviews of large numbers of Indian applicants and that both sides are engaged on the issue.
The government has received several representations from Indian nationals who are facing problems with the rescheduling of their visa appointments, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing on Friday.
Visa-related issues pertain to the sovereign domain of any country, Jaiswal said, adding: “We have flagged these issues and our concerns to the US side, both here in New Delhi and in Washington DC.”
He said several Indians have been stranded for extended periods of time in India causing a lot of “hardships” to them and their families.
From December 15, the US expanded the vetting of social media accounts to all H-1B visa applicants as well as their dependents.
“In every visa case, we will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought, including that the applicant intends to engage in activities consistent with the terms of admission. The Department of State regularly shifts appointments as needed to match resource availability,” the US Embassy spokesperson said.
This social media scrutiny of applications comes three months after the US administration led by President Donald Trump increased the fee for new H-1B applicants to about US $100,000 from about $2,000-$5,000, depending on employer size and other costs.
