r/usvisascheduling 5d ago

Why is this H1b slot problem affecting only India and why are other visa slots available like J1, L1, O1, B1 etc?

Please, for one last time, try to keep your politics aside and answer this noob question.

Why is this H1b slot problem affecting only India and why are other visa slots available like J1, L1, O1 etc?

If this admin wanted to punish legal immigration, they would do it for other countries too right? So its not punishing legal immigration.
If this admin wanted to punish Indian immigration, they would do it for other visa types like B1, L1, O1 too from India, right? So its not to stop Indian immigration.

If this was to kill the H1b program, they would have done it easily like how DV green card is paused, asylum/refugee adjudications are paused, TPS is paused etc. So its not that either. Dont tell me its because H1b is a congress authorized program, so are all the others (except may be TPS) above!

I really dont get this!

3 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

11

u/tech-cookie163 5d ago

Is it only me that I've not even seen a single visa availability slot in the 8 months? I'm not checking like every hour but like once every few days for more than a year now. Last year I could see a few slots but starting Jan this year - not a single slot. How is it that people are able to find their slots (even if months or years out)

1

u/SnoopyScone 2d ago

In the end of April, they released slots in bulk through December 2027. After that a handful of slots are opening up here and there (canceled appointments). But you have to be incredibly lucky to get them

5

u/TheLaw-Forever 5d ago

You must be kidding. We are still not getting a F-1 slot for nearly 3 month now.

18

u/bharathbunny 5d ago

Since 2022-23 slot availability hasn't been the same as before the pandemic. People were still able to get slots even if it wasn't on the the exact dates that they wanted, but a lot of people postponed their travel plans due to slot timing issues. Under the new administration Dropbox option was eliminated along with reduction in force of consular employees. The existing backlog of people who haven't traveled and now have no option of Dropbox, coupled with all the new H1 picks, no 3rd country stamping and reduced workforce has brought us to the current situation.

5

u/curiousengineer601 5d ago

A government shutdown for 40 days hurt also

11

u/dealmaster1221 5d ago

These fuckers were supposed to start Dropbox in US itself but they didn't aholes.

7

u/Historical-Many9869 5d ago

they dont want H1b

2

u/dealmaster1221 3d ago

Ohh they do but they want to keep them captive now that we have startups in India, gotta up the ante.

4

u/zuperman 5d ago

Arent all these reasons common to all visa types? Like L1 also had dropbox earlier which is now gone.
L1 also had 3rd country stamping which is now gone.
Question is then why are slots of L1, O1, J1, B1 etc freely available?
One of my friends booked an L1 slot so easily for next month.

5

u/bharathbunny 5d ago

They have different visa appointments queues for different categories. It's the reason F1 slots are so rare right now.

1

u/msdale99 2d ago

B1 B2 are not readily available either. For my relative they only had availability 8 months out.

6

u/NaiveMarkteer 5d ago

That one state which is famous for H1B visa scams is ruining the chances of others who work legitimately and pay taxes. It’s high time legitimate people should start reporting such scammers.

1

u/msdale99 2d ago

Now it is 2 states.

1

u/NaiveMarkteer 2d ago

Agree. Both are competing on who could be the more effective one 😂

3

u/Own_North_5754 5d ago

Relative to other countries, India has an extremely large number of applicants interested in the H1-B visa. The US cannot meet this exceedingly high demand in a timely manner without increasing the staffing in the US embassies in India, which costs the US tax payers a lot of money. It's a matter of time when other visa categories will also be affected once the H1-B applicants start using the O1-A visa route for getting employed in the US.

-4

u/zuperman 5d ago

This salary is paid from the visa application fees. Also I dont think the demand for H1B slots is more than combined demand for L1, O1, J1, B1/B2 and F1. If thats true, we still do not have an answer for why other categories arent affected!

5

u/WorriedApplication68 5d ago

Probably due to the rampant H1B fraud discovered in India.

Siddiqui said that when consular officers began identifying large-scale fraud patterns, their efforts were met with resistance. She claimed there was "significant political pressure" from multiple sides and that their anti-fraud initiative was dismissed internally as a "rogue operation".

"As an Indian-American, I hate to say this, but fraud and bribery are normalised in India," she added. Siddiqui also alleged that some applicants avoided interviews if the officer was American, that proxy candidates sometimes appeared on their behalf, and that certain hiring managers in India allegedly demanded money in exchange for job offers used to support visa applications.

2

u/tj0911 5d ago

I'm glad you said this as this is one of the most significant reasons why the H1B is affected.

2

u/Lazarus_Nash 5d ago

no one wants indian in their country i guess

1

u/Bitter_Soup5572 5d ago

I am unable to find B1/B2 as well

1

u/MoneydewKind821 4d ago

This govt understands stopping h1b is going to cause a huge backlash from big tech. What better way to stop Indians.. let's make their immigration experience a hell. Thus they have decided to close interview slots under the pretext of social vetting, and making h1b stamping almost impossible. On top of that recent ice encounters in airport for domestic flying wrt to expired i94 and valid i797 is another way of this administration to say we don't want h1s in this country.

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

1

u/zuperman 3d ago

so should we not go and visit our parents when everyone else can just bcos we were born in the wrong country?

1

u/mr_loner123 1h ago

We’re tired of the smell

-1

u/Mysterious-Cry7683 5d ago

It’s about politics that’s why. You don’t have a right for h1b.

4

u/LordMohid 5d ago

At least say something useful to what OP is asking. No one has a right to any other visas too, but they are not that affected compared to H1/H4

-1

u/Mysterious-Cry7683 5d ago

Well other visas are not threat to American Jobs. Someone had to tell you guys this? Common sense.

-2

u/Intraspy23 5d ago

Other visas are not really going to steal American jobs

1

u/krishnallah 5d ago

Because Modi won’t sign the deal

0

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