Approximately 2,000 cancelled visa appointments in the United States Embassy in India were apparently booked by automated bots, according to the Embassy. Right away, the embassy suspended the scheduling privileges pertaining to the accounts that had been involved in fraudulent activity.
The embassy added in a statement on social media platform X, “Consular Team India spotted bad actors who had about 2,000 visa slots that violated our scheduling policies’. And we will cancel these appointments and we will suspend the accounts’ scheduling privileges.”
Besides, the embassy reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the prevention of fraudulent practices, and going that further, it said that it would continue improving its anti-fraud effort. “We have zero tolerance for fraud.”
It also follows recent changes in visa processing timelines that led to demand for US visa appointments taking off. In a move that is likely to surprise many, the April 2025 Visa Bulletin, issued by the US State Department, shows retrogression in several categories under the nonimmigrant visa EB5 Unreserved category from India and China. The time in between these times, especially interviews, has caused the rush to interviews to intensify even more; the genuine applicants have found it even harder to secure the appointment.
However, some of this demand has been exploited by certain travel agents and unknown intermediaries for the purposes of booking appointment slots through bots over and above selling actual air tickets, resulting in individual applicants being unable to book their own appointments. The latest crackdown from the embassy is a direct measure to stop these fraudulent tactics and its way of facilitating a fair as well as transparent visa scheduling process.
US authorities have repeatedly determined to battle fraud and preserve the integrity of the visa application system. It encouraged applicants to make their appointments through official channels but not through any third parties that adopt unethical conduct.
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