\t\t\tBy Ritu Jha-<\/p>\n
Members of the Indian diaspora raised concerns over visa appointment backlogs, H-1B and H-4 visa processing, family separation and other immigration issues during a welcome reception for newly appointed Consul General of India in San Francisco Satish Kumar Sivan.<\/p>\n
The reception, hosted by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, marked one of Sivan\u2019s early community outreach engagements after he assumed charge of the San Francisco consulate on Aug. 24, 2026. He succeeded Dr. K. Srikar Reddy.<\/p>\n
A career diplomat with two decades of experience, Sivan previously served as India\u2019s consul general in Dubai. His diplomatic assignments have included postings in Washington, D.C., Beijing and Seoul, as well as administrative roles at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.<\/p>\n
Sivan oversees a multi-state U.S. jurisdiction that includes major technology corridors and more than a million members of the Indian-American community. The reception brought together diaspora members, professionals and community leaders who discussed concerns affecting Indian nationals and Indian-American families.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiaspora in different geographies represent different capabilities. But every diaspora in every part of the world is very critical to India\u2019s national growth,\u201d Sivan said.<\/p>\n
Sivan described his previous experience serving the Indian community in Dubai and said the diaspora plays an important role in India\u2019s growth and global engagement. He also said community organizations could help consulates address needs that exceed their available resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity association is our arms and our legs on the ground,\u201d Sivan said. \u201cWhat the consulate cannot do because of its limited resources, we would like the community to support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sivan also spoke about the future of the India-U.S. relationship, emphasizing technology, shared democratic values and global growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the next 2 decades, our Amrit Kaal period, is going to be the most critical relationship, and this is going to deliver not just for our countries; it is going to deliver for the world in terms of technology, and fast-paced but inclusive, balanced growth globally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On concerns about consular services, Sivan said improvements would be pursued incrementally.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will see things improving,\u201d he said. \u201cI am not going to say that everything will be perfect, but you will see an earnest endeavor to show that improvement daily.\u201d<\/p>\n
The visa concerns raised at the reception included cases involving employees who traveled to India and were unable to return to the United States after their visa appointments were postponed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been in business for more than 11 years, doing business and management consulting with the State of California, Wells Fargo, and all of them,\u201d Silicon Valley entrepreneur Veena Ramachandran said.<\/p>\n
Ramachandran said some of her employees traveled to India for the holidays but became stranded after their visa appointments were postponed. She said the delays created difficulties for the employees and the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking at it individually as a company and trying our best, but maybe there is something that we could do to bring our people back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Khanderao Kand, president of FIIDS, said the organization had raised visa-processing concerns with U.S. and Indian officials. He attributed the delays to social media vetting announced by the U.S. administration and said FIIDS had proposed prioritizing people already waiting for appointments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn November 2025, the U.S. administration decided that they will do the social media vetting of all immigrants, which is actually not needed,\u201d Kand said.<\/p>\n
Kand said FIIDS discussed the issue with Ambassador Sergio Gor in New Delhi and later raised it with members of Congress and India\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs. He said the organization was told the matter was largely within the executive branch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is more in the purview of the executive branch, and it is happening from there,\u201d Kand said.<\/p>\n
Kand said the delays were affecting H-1B holders who need visa stamping and said some technology companies had issued travel advisories.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ongoing immigration hurdles and appointment backlogs have created severe distress across the Indian-American community, impacting career stability, family life, and travel,\u201d Kand said.<\/p>\n
He also described the effect of prolonged delays on professionals who are already employed in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is 7-8 months now, and the condition is horrible and inhuman,\u201d Kand said. He argued that existing H-1B workers seeking renewals should be prioritized.<\/p>\n
Kand said concerns about social media scrutiny had also made some immigrants reluctant to participate in advocacy efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that now people are scared even to sign petitions because they feel that they might be under scrutiny due to this social media vetting,\u201d he said. \u201cThe H-1B holders and students are panicked and worried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kand also raised concerns about potential changes to the 60-day grace period available to workers after losing their jobs, saying such changes could create additional difficulties for families affected by corporate layoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are about 300,000 students of Indian origin in the United States,\u201d Kand said. \u201cAll of them will be subjected to this duration of stay norm that has come into effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
One H-1B holder, identified as Alok, whose name was changed because of concerns about being targeted, described how visa delays separated him from his wife and children.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife and I were working on H-1B in Dec 2025,\u201d Alok told indica. He said the couple traveled to India so their parents could meet their 6-month-old daughter and had secured an H-1B visa appointment before traveling.<\/p>\n
After completing biometrics, Alok said his visa interview, originally scheduled for December 2025, was rescheduled to July 2026. He said his wife lost her job in April 2026, causing her H-1B visa to become invalid.<\/p>\n
Alok said he was able to reschedule his own interview and obtain an H-1B visa stamp in April before returning to the United States in May. His wife then attempted to obtain an H-4 dependent visa appointment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I came to the U.S. in May, my wife tried to book an H-4 visa appointment,\u201d Alok said. \u201cShe was told to wait till her original appointment in July is over and then fill out a new DS-160 and find new H-4 appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said H-4 appointments had not opened since April and that his wife and their two U.S. citizen children remained in India while waiting for an appointment.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family is separated from me, and my wife and children are in India waiting for the visa appointments to open,\u201d he said. \u201cI need this case to be considered with empathy and to get her visa appointment scheduled sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alok also described difficulties with emergency appointments, saying applicants must first have a regular appointment before requesting expedited consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey say that for an emergency to be considered, you need to get that appointment first, and then they will consider it an emergency,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if they don\u2019t open the appointment itself, when are we going to get an emergency appointment?\u201d<\/p>\n
He also questioned the uncertainty surrounding visa fees and appointment availability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not buying a lottery ticket,\u201d Alok said. \u201cWe are paying for an appointment. There should be some guarantee that at least there will be an appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alok said the people affected by the backlog include professionals who already have jobs and established lives in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that someone is coming for a new job; it\u2019s the existing jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cPlease consider this a case in point and help us because the families are being separated; people are living in anxiety here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nikita, whose name was changed at her request, described similar difficulties after her visa classification changed from H-1B to H-4.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe visa class is the same, H-class visa,\u201d Nikita told indica by phone. She said she contacted U.S. Visa Scheduling customer service to ask whether she could retain her existing appointment but was told she could not.<\/p>\n
She said she was unable to cancel the appointment and seek an earlier date under the new visa classification. She eventually had to miss the appointment and pay the fees again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to make a no-show, and then I had to pay the fees again, and now I am starting to look for appointments again,\u201d Nikita said. \u201cMy 3 months are wasted in that process, just to make a no-show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nikita said her attempts to obtain assistance through consular channels resulted primarily in automated responses directing her to online scheduling resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow they are not responding to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI only get an automated email asking me to follow particular web links for U.S. visa scheduling.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said applicants were required to schedule an appointment before being able to communicate with officials about their cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this a way to treat legal immigrants?\u201d Nikita said. \u201cThis is inhuman.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nikita also said H-1B visa appointments were being offered only at Chennai and Hyderabad, creating additional difficulties for applicants elsewhere in India.<\/p>\n
\u201cNowadays they are giving H-1B visa appointments only in Chennai and Hyderabad, not in any other Indian consulate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Applicants have also reported differing outcomes when seeking emergency appointments for family separation and other urgent circumstances, according to accounts shared at the reception. Community members said thousands of applicants, including families with infants and young children, were communicating through online Telegram groups while waiting for appointments.<\/p>\n
The concerns gave Sivan an early look at the issues community members want the San Francisco consulate to address during his tenure.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will see things improving,\u201d Sivan said. \u201cI am not going to say that everything will be perfect, but you will see an earnest endeavor to show that improvement daily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Ritu Jha- Members of the Indian diaspora raised concerns over visa appointment backlogs, H-1B and H-4 visa…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[16570,52768,5775,52761,52772,52770,52766,536,17943,1611,28502,52759,52765,52775,52771,52773,52774,101,103,102,104,106,105,52764,52762,52760,52769,52763,52767],"class_list":["post-467887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-abortion-rights","tag-bidenomics","tag-border-security","tag-california-indian-news","tag-department-of-government-efficiency","tag-dobbs-decision","tag-doge","tag-donald-trump","tag-election-integrity","tag-elon-musk","tag-heritage-foundation","tag-indian-american-news","tag-indian-american-updates","tag-indian-origin","tag-lawfare","tag-project-2025","tag-ritu-jha","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-south-asian-community-news","tag-south-asian-diaspora","tag-south-asian-news","tag-swing-states","tag-u-s-indian-news","tag-vivek-ramaswamy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}