Stranded in India for 18 Months, H-1B Visa Holder Faces Big Court Setback

A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from H-1B visa holder Navdeep Sharma, who has been stuck in India for 18 months post-interview.

A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by an H-1B visa holder who has been stranded in India for about 18 months after attending a visa interview, ruling that the delay in processing his application was not legally unreasonable despite his prolonged separation from his family. In a ruling issued on July 10, US District Judge Timothy J Kelly rejected claims by Navdeep Sharma, an Indian national who sought a court order requiring US officials to decide his H-1B visa application.

While expressing sympathy for Sharma’s circumstances, Judge Kelly said there was no legal basis for the court to give his application priority over others awaiting decisions. “Although the Court sympathizes with Sharma and his prolonged separation from his family, this factor alone is not a reason for the Court to bump him to the front of the line,” the judge wrote.

How the Case Began

According to court filings cited in a report by Newsweek, Sharma worked for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and lived in Georgetown, Texas, with his wife and two children, who are US citizens. His employer filed a petition in December 2023 to extend his H-1B status until March 2027, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved the extension in early 2024.

Sharma travelled to Hyderabad in January 2025 to obtain a new H-1B visa stamp.

Following his interview, US consular officials declined to issue the visa and instructed him to undergo a medical examination. The court said he later completed a second medical examination after another request from the US Consulate.

In July 2025, Sharma’s online case status changed to “Approved”, prompting him to return to collect his passport. Instead, consular officials again declined to issue the visa and requested information about his social media accounts.

According to the lawsuit, he has remained in India awaiting a final decision ever since.

Challenge to Visa Delay

Sharma sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior administration officials, arguing that the government had unlawfully delayed deciding his visa application.

The judge found that Sharma had failed to show those senior officials were responsible for the delay.

Judge Kelly noted that the Department of Homeland Security had already approved Sharma’s H-1B petition and said claims that security checks were causing the delay were speculative. He also ruled that visa decisions are made by consular officers rather than senior officials in Washington.

Why Court Rejected the Claim

The judge then considered whether the delay was unreasonable under the legal framework used by federal courts in visa-delay cases. Judge Kelly acknowledged that several factors supported Sharma’s case. The ruling said Sharma had suffered economic harm because he could not return to work for Tata Consultancy Services while stranded in India and that both he and his employer had invested “substantial time and money” in the visa process.

However, the judge concluded that the most significant legal factors favoured the government.

He noted that Congress has not imposed a statutory deadline for deciding visa applications and cited previous court decisions finding that delays approaching two years have often been considered reasonable. “That delay falls well short of pleading what courts have considered an unreasonable delay,” Judge Kelly wrote.

The judge also said granting Sharma’s request would effectively move his application ahead of others already waiting in the queue. “Ordering consular officials to process his application on his preferred timeline would necessarily require [the agency] to prioritize [his] application ‘at the expense of other similarly situated applicants,'” he wrote.

Social Media Screening Argument Rejected

Sharma argued that his application had received unusual treatment because officials requested details of his social media accounts before such screening was publicly announced for H-1B applicants.

Sharma argued that his application had received unusual treatment because officials requested details of his social media accounts before such screening was publicly announced for H-1B applicants.

The court rejected that argument, saying it did not demonstrate that expediting his application would avoid disrupting the government’s existing processing system.

The opinion also noted that Sharma agreed there was “no indication that Defendants are acting in bad faith.” “The Court takes notice of the troubling backlog of petitions waiting for…adjudication,” Judge Kelly wrote. However, he added that Sharma’s wait “pales in comparison to the longer delays other applicants have unsuccessfully challenged in this district.” The court ultimately granted the government’s motion to dismiss, bringing the case to an end.

The ruling comes as the Trump administration pursues a series of changes to the H-1B visa programme.

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