H-1B stamping dates opening in India but don't travel if you are in the US, says immigration expert

Amid reports that H-1B visa stamping slots are becoming available in India randomly, immigration attorney Emily Neumann said those who are presently in the US are not advised to book an appointment in India as they should traveling outside India now. Those who are already in India, stuck for months, as all slots were frozen because of a major rescheduling of dates in December 2025 should do their best to try to book slots and get their passport stamped. But those who are in the US, they don’t need the visa stamp for anything and they should not travel outside. The US government is doing everything to stop immigrants from coming to the US, Neumann said, adding that getting the appointment is the easiest part of the process. There is no guarantee that the slot you booked won’t get canceled, your H-1B visa won’t get prudentially revoked when you are outside the country. Thousands of Indians got stranded in their home when they traveled to India last December for a vacation. Visa holders generally book visa appointments when they visit home, as stamping is now mandatorily done in the home countries of the visa holders. In December, the consulates in India canceled and rescheduled all interviews and deferred them to as late as May, June 2026. Without the stamping, they can’t re-enter the US, so they were forced to stay in India, biding their time. Some companies allowed them to work from India but there is still uncertainty about the future of these H-1B visa holders. No fresh dates were available for the last three months but in the last few weeks, some slots opened leading to a major rush for the visa holders.

What is H-1B visa stamping? Why is it needed?

The visa stamp is the sticker on your passport that will allow you to enter the US. It generally has a three-year validity for Indians. This is not work authorization and this is not needed for anything inside the US. Form I-797 controls how long you can stay in the US on the H-1B visa and work. Your visa stamp can expire when you are in the US, but you can continue working as long as your I-797 is valid. The new stamping is needed only to re-enter the country and also to enter the country for the first time.