New Delhi, Mar 27: The United States embassy in India has cancelled about 2,000 visa appointments allegedly booked by bots, citing violations of its scheduling policies, the embassy announced on social media platform X.
“Consular Team India identified bad actors who made about 2,000 visa appointments that violated our scheduling policies. Effective immediately, we are cancelling these appointments and suspending the associated accounts’ scheduling privileges,” the embassy said in its statement.
The embassy emphasized its zero-tolerance policy for fraud and stated that it would continue efforts to prevent fraudulent practices in the visa appointment system.
The announcement comes amid increased demand for US visas. The April 2025 Visa Bulletin, released by the US State Department, showed significant retrogression in certain employment-based visa categories, particularly for India and China in the EB-5 Unreserved category. The delays are expected to result in longer wait times for applicants.
Some travel agents in India have been accused of using automated bots to block visa appointment slots, making it difficult for individuals to secure interview dates. A person quoted by the Times of India said that while the waiting period for B1/B2 visa categories exceeds six months, some agents charge between ₹30,000 and ₹35,000 to secure an earlier appointment, sometimes within a month.
The US issues visas under temporary (non-immigrant) and immigrant (permanent) categories. Non-immigrant visas allow foreign nationals to enter the US for specific purposes such as tourism, business, study, or temporary work. The H-1B visa, sought after by many Indian professionals, falls under this category. Immigrant visas, on the other hand, lead to a Green Card, granting holders permanent residency and allowing them to live and work in the United States indefinitely.
