H-1B interview slots in India are booked into 2027
The squeeze on H-1B visa stamping has deepened: appointment inventory at US consulates in India is full through 2026, the interview-waiver 'dropbox' is gone, and lawyers are warning workers not to leave the US just to get stamped.
The bottleneck in H-1B visa stamping for Indian workers has tightened sharply. As of early 2026, regular H-1B appointment inventory at US consulates in India was effectively booked through the rest of the year, with the earliest fresh dates pushed out to May 2027.
Two changes drove the jam. The interview-waiver "dropbox" route ended (effective 2 September 2025), pushing nearly all applicants back into in-person consular interviews, and added security and social-media vetting has slowed each case further. Indians, who hold the large majority of H-1B visas, feel it most.
Immigration lawyers are issuing an unusual warning: do not leave the United States solely to get stamped. A valid I-797 approval lets an H-1B holder work inside the US, but it does not guarantee re-entry if a stamping appointment slips or a security check drags on — risking weeks stranded abroad.
For the Indian-American tech workforce, the message for 2026 is blunt: if you don't have to leave the country, don't.
Sources: VisaVerge.
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