New Delhi, Dec. 11 -- The US Embassy in India confirmed on Tuesday that a number of visa appointments in India had been rescheduled due to "resource availability" issues amid increased scrutiny of all H-1B visa applicants, and dependents on H-4 visas, through a new rule that mandates a review of their social media profiles. The US Embassy clarified that all changes would be communicated to the applicants directly. "If you have received an email advising that your visa appointment has been rescheduled, Mission India looks forward to assisting you on your new appointment date. Arriving on your previously scheduled appointment date will result in your being denied admittance to the Embassy or Consulate," the Embassy posted on X on Wednesday. In response to a request for further details, the Embassy pointed to enhanced vetting requirements that will go into effect on December 15 for all H-1B applicants and their H-4 visa depends. "The Department of State conducts thorough vetting of all visa applicants, including an online presence review of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications. Beginning December 15, we are expanding the online presence review to all specialty occupation temporary worker (H-1B) visa applicants and their dependents in the H-4 visa classification," US Embassy spokesperson Christopher Elms said. Immigration attorneys believe the changes may not make it harder for Indian applicants to receive H1B visas. "In my view, it doesn't necessarily make it much harder to qualify for an H-1B visa if the underlying petition and credentials are strong, but it can make the process slower and more stressful-particularly for first-time stamping and tight onboarding deadlines," says Nicole Gurnara, principal immigration attorney at Manifest Law.According to Gurnara, the practical impact of the new vetting rules will be limited to timing and predictability. This could mean longer interview wait times and more cases placed into administrative processing after visa interviews. This will then have an effect on dependent family members applying for H-4 visas. In June, the Trump administration announced that a social media vetting process would be put into place for student and exchange visitor visa applicants worldwide. As part of the process, US embassies and consulates were instructed to pause adding new appointment capacity while the new vetting process was rolled out....