New Delhi: TheMinistry of External Affairs has flagged its concerns to the US over cancellation of pre-scheduled H1B visa interviews of many Indian applicants and that both sides are engaged on the issue.

The Union 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 media briefing. From December 15, the US expanded the vetting of social media accounts to all H1B 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 (about Rs 89.8 lakh) from about $2,000-$5,000, depending on employer size and other costs. 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.

Interviews of thousands of H1B visa applicants slated from the middle of December in India have been abruptly postponed by several months to scrutinise their social media posts and online profiles. Some of the applicants, whose visa appointments were scheduled last week, received emails from US immigration authorities informing that their interviews are being pushed back as late as May next year.