Three immigration lawyers quoted by The Washington Post described the disruption as significant. Emily Neumann, a partner at Houston-based immigration firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC, said she had at least 100 clients stranded in India, while Indian attorney Veena Vijay Ananth and Atlanta-based lawyer Charles Kuck said they each had about a dozen cases.

“This is the biggest mess we have seen. I’m not sure there is a plan,” Ananth told The Washington Post. Neumann asked: “How long are companies going to be willing to wait for these people?”

According to an April 2025 report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), India accounts for 71 per cent of all H-1B visa holders, making the delays particularly impactful for Indian professionals.

The visa delays come amid other tightening measures. In July, the State Department announced that H-1B holders and their H-4 dependents would no longer be able to renew visas in third countries, effective September 2, 2025, and on September 19, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B applications. This fee applies to new petitions filed after September 21, including those entered into the 2026 lottery.

Recently in December, California and 19 other US states filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s USD100,000 fee.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the 20-state coalition lawsuit, calling the policy unlawful and warning it could disrupt sectors that rely on skilled foreign workers.