An Indian Redditor asked for help from members of the H-1B community, presenting a unique crisis. While hundreds of H-1B visa holders are stranded in India due to their visa stamp expiration and no appointment date available at consular offices in India for immediate stamping, a Redditor has an H-1B petition valid till 2028 but no job to return to.
“I was laid off from the company while I was in India due to a family emergency in India. My H1B petition is valid until 2028. What are my options now in India to stamp my visa again and return to USA,” Reddit asked.The most popular answer to emerge from the viral post was that the situation has practically no solution other than to stay in India. “H-1B is virtually dead,” someone wrote in the comments section and it resonated with many facing a similar situation.
H-1B visa fees, job loss, visa stamping delay
Since the Redditor was laid off on vacation in India, the 60-day grace period didn’t matter. Finding a new US employer was the most suggested solution, but Redditors also pointed out that it was next to impossible, as any company that hired an H-1B visa holder residing in India would have to pay a $100,000 visa fee. The H-1B visa program faces a three-pronged problem under the current Trump administration. The administration imposed a visa fee of $100,000 if the candidate the company wants to hire is not in the United States.
This immediately narrows the hiring pool for mid-sized employers as many senior H-1B employees have confirmed that they will continue to hire H-1Bs from outside the country, despite the fees. Delays in visa stamping in India have led to hundreds of H-1B aircraft being grounded outside the United States. These Indian technical workers traveled to India around November and December 2025 to obtain a newly stamped entry visa from the consular offices. All of their appointments were rescheduled for 2026 and even for 2027 as consular offices began screening the social media of H-1B and H-4 visa candidates and reduced the number of appointments per day. This forced the H-1Bs to remain in India as they could not enter the United States without a new visa stamp.
Some companies allowed them to operate from India, others laid off their H-1Bs.
