An Indian American policy and geopolitical strategist with a strong social media presence on X once again put the spotlight on the diaspora community grappling with the ongoing H-1B visa crisis in India. Directly calling on the US State Department and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to “stop using Indian immigrants as your tool for political propaganda,” Sidharth said it had been over 100 days since a regular H-1B appointment slot was released in India.
Indian-origin policy strategist says 100+ days but no H-1B slot in India
Taking to his X profile over the weekend, the Indian-origin investor, who is also the founder of the Indian American Advocacy Council, emphasised that despite there being 5 US Consulates in India, appointment slots for the ‘specialty occupations’ non-immigrant visa were still missing.
For the unversed, there are four US Consulate Generals in India (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad) and a US Embassy in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
Sidharth also reiterated a statement in his post that has particularly frustrated Americans these past months amid the major H-1B overhaul implemented by the Donald Trump administration. He said that the current work visa chaos has left “thousands stranded,” “families torn apart,” and “careers destroyed.”
“They followed every rule. Filed every form. Paid every fee. And the system is punishing them for visiting their parents.”
The word “stranded” has been used to describe the current situation of many H-1B visa holders and applicants, whose professional lives were left in limbo after the US unexpectedly cancelled pre-scheduled visa interviews in India. Even top officials from the Indian Government flagged the issue, with External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying at a press briefing, “The government of India has received several representations from Indian nationals who are facing delays or problems with rescheduling of their visa appointment.”
How are they stranded in their own country?
— Kumarsalib (@kumarsalib) March 22, 2026
“While we do understand that visa-related issues pertain to the sovereign domain of any country, we have flagged these issues and concerns of our nationals to the US side, both in New Delhi and in Washington DC. We hope that these delays and the disruptions will be addressed.” He also added, “There are several people who have been stranded for extended periods of time because of scheduling and rescheduling of consular appointments.”
The delays and cancellations, in some cases, were prompted by the Trump administration’s introduction of new policies related to the H-1B visa program. Among the biggest blows was the announcement of expanded screening and vetting for H-1B applicants and their dependents (H-4 visa applicants). As of December 15, the US State Department declared that the new vetting protocol would require all applicants of H-1B and H-4 visas to adjust their privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public.”
Consequently, US Consulates across India pushed visa-stamping interview dates to 2027, with the delays beginning in December 2025. At first, some appointments were rescheduled to March 2026, but later pushed back to October 2026 and then to 2027.
The unprecedented development compelled many US immigration attorneys to advise foreign workers against travelling outside the US. Unfortunately, those who had already flown back to their home countries were stuck there, shrouding their professional lives in America under long-term uncertainty.
Anti H-1B sentiment prevails on X again
As countless headlines foregrounding these circumstances have chosen to use the word “stranded” to describe the current crisis, many Americans online have taken issue with how someone could be stuck in their own country. The mass vitriol-filled criticism driving the anti-Indian rhetoric on social media has especially been fuelled by Americans who feel US companies have rendered them jobless by prioritising “cheap foreign labour.”
In recent years, India has emerged as the biggest source of international workers, with over 70% of all H-1B approvals being dominated by Indian nationals.
Sidharth’s post again incited severely negative reactions from Americans, with some especially dissecting all of his statements in the X post.
“Thousands stranded – lol in their own countries,” wrote one such user. “Families torn apart- lol why were they not traveling as a family? Even if they were not, the rest can come to their motherland and make their family whole. Careers destroyed- lol it’s a work visa – that paid less than the US citizen who lost their job to not only H1B temporary work visa holders but their spouses on H4 and their children on OPT visas.”
Another X user said that while he felt for families being separated, he couldn’t help but bring up “American families displaced by H-1B and outsourcing.”
A third person commented, “H1Bs and ‘work visa programs’ have decimated the careers of tens of thousands of Americans. For a time, one could reasonably say this was not the fault of the Indian worker, but certainly over the last 10 to 15 years the Indian worker has exploited the entire process (including agencies that assist them) and have absolutely done so with every facet possible.
“To save America, we need to start re-patriating these H1B jobs with any American willing to do the work – start advertising all the positions currently held by H1Bs and actively start recruiting and replacing – and yes, that means American companies are going to have to pay Americans American wages.”
A fourth said, “Good. Now you know how it feels for Americans who have been sidelined by their own institution. Continue to cry. You will find no sympathy here.”
Another popular account praised Stephen Miller, a conservative firebrand and White House advisor, who’s been described as “the aide driving president’s most controversial policies” by the likes of the BBC. @WallStreetMav wrote, “Indian H-1B continue to have difficulty getting appointments to renew their visas. As a result, thousands are ‘stranded’ in India. Well played, Stephen Miller (laughing emoticon).”
Other H-1B rule changes under the Trump administration
The new social media rules are just one of the several policy revisions as part of the major H-1B overhaul this past year. The Republican president’s anti-immigration and ‘America First’ approach led him to sign a proclamation establishing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applicants in September 2025.
As part of yet another controversial rule, the Trump administration finalised in December that it would revamp the H-1B selection process by replacing the annual randomised H-1B lottery program with a new weighted selection process favouring workers with the highest wage offers. The program is capped at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 slots for US advanced degree holders.
“The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser in a December news release.
“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’s intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers. With these regulatory changes and others in the future, we will continue to update the H-1B program to help American businesses without allowing the abuse that was harming American workers.”
Disclaimer: The content in this article is based on a viral social media discussion and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only.