The US Embassy in India is set to introduce several new regulations. The new regulations include scheduling and rescheduling of non-immigrant visa appointments. This new rule will begin from January 1, 2025. These changes are aimed at making the process more efficient. These new rules in turn will reduce long waiting times for applicants. This announcement was shared through the U.S. embassy’s official Instagram account, which comes shortly after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed updates to the H-1B visa program. The announcement was designed to speed up the hiring process for critical industries.
Under these new visa appointment guidelines from US Embassy, applicants will have ability to reschedule their appointments. This does not include any additional fees. However, if they miss rescheduled appointment then in that case they will need to book a new appointment and pay the fee again. The embassy also emphasized on the fact that these changes are designed to make it easier and faster for people to get appointments. This also urges applicants to attend their scheduled appointments in order to help and maintain an orderly process. The Department of Homeland Security has announced its decision to modernise the H-1B visa programme. The new rules, which came into effect from 2025. This new rules aims to streamline the H-1B approval process, by offering flexibility for employers to retain global talent, and prevent misuse.
Additionally, a key development in the H-1B visa process, set to take effect on January 17, 2025. The new introduction comes under the revised rules under Biden’s administration. These new regulations will require applicants to demonstrate that their degree is directly related to the position that they are applying for. This move is aimed at preventing the misuse of the program.
The updated rules also grant immigration officials the authority to process visa extension requests based on previous approvals. This is done in order to simplify the procedure. Furthermore, they will have more frequent authority to conduct workplace compliance checks.
Another positive change is the expansion of the Interview Waiver Programme. This programme will allow certain applicants to avoid in-person interviews by utilizing their previous records. This in turn will help in accelerating the overall process.
