"Zero tolerance for agents and fixers": US cancels over 2k visa appointments by bots
Mar 27, 2025
New Delhi [India], March 27 : The US Embassy in India cancelled about 2000 visa appointments made by bots.
On Wednesday, the embassy announced that they have a zero-tolerance policy for agents and fixers.
In a pot on X, the embassy said, "Consular Team India is canceling about 2000 visa appointments made by bots. We have zero tolerance for agents and fixers that violate our scheduling policies."
https://x.com/USAndIndia/status/1904843783201583522
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh revealed that since January 20, the US has deported 55 Indian nationals who arrived in India via Panama.
Singh also mentioned that no Indian national has been deported by the US to any other country besides Panama.
"Beginning 20 January 2025, the US deported a total of 55 Indian nationals who arrived in New Delhi via Panama. These individuals were deported to Panama by the US under a bilateral arrangement. Panama, in turn, facilitated the deportation of these individuals to New Delhi on commercial flights with the assistance of the International Organization of Migration (IOM)," Singh said in a written reply to an unstarred question in parliament.
Adding further, MoS MEA highlighted that the Ministry of External Affairs remains engaged with the US in ensuring the safe return of all individuals who have been verified as Indian nationals.
Meanwhile, as per a CNN report on February 6, at least 104 Indian citizens were deported from the US on the night of February 4 on a military aircraft, according to officials from Punjab, as US President Donald Trump made stemming immigration a top priority.
The C-17 aircraft, carrying migrants mainly from India's Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab states, landed on February 5 in Amritsar, Punjab officials said. It was the longest-distance flight since the Trump administration began deploying military aircraft for migrant transportation, according to a US official.
US President Donald Trump on February 23 while addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), referred to mass deportations and said that he was restoring government "by the people."
