Is moving to Germany safer than US? H-1B Redditor's viral question amid visa delay in India

Amid the ongoing uncertainty over the H-1B visa situation, a Redditor sought advice on whether moving to Germany would be a better option than the US as the person has the option of moving to Germany from the current company. The Redditor shared that they were selected in the H-1B 2025 lottery and the petition was filed under regular processing on June 20. Since then, the status has remained "being processed" with no updates.

"In previous years, I’ve seen colleagues complete their H-1B stamping and travel by December or January, so this already feels like a significant delay. On top of that, I’m now seeing reports that many people who had H-1B interview appointments scheduled for January 2026 are being automatically rescheduled to April 2027, which is an extremely long wait," the Redditor said.




The Redditor expressed concern that even if the petition gets approved early January 2026, getting an interview slot in the consular offices seems to be a long wait. Scheduled appointments of December have been pushed to the middle of next year as the State Department started social media vetting of all H-1B requests.

"Given this situation, even if my petition is approved by December 2025 or January 2026, how soon can I realistically expect to get an interview slot? Is it likely that interview availability will really be pushed out to 2027, or are there chances of earlier slots opening up? In other words, do I truly need to wait that long just for visa stamping?" the Redditor asked.

"Separately, I also have a job offer in Germany from my current company. Considering the growing uncertainty, processing delays, and visa interview backlogs associated with the H-1B process, would it be advisable to pursue the Germany option instead?" the Redditor added.

The post garnered several replies with many people pointing out that Germany will have its own money problem, as taxes are higher and salaries are lower. Some advised the Redditor to stay in their own country.

Since December 8, US consulates, especially those in India, have begun mass rescheduling of H-1B and H-4 visa appointments. New dates are in 2026 forcing the applicants to wait in India for six to nine months as many H-1B visa holders came to India to attend those stamping interviews only to be informed that now their interviews will be held in March-April.

India has taken up the visa delay issue with the US, India's external affairs ministry said. "There are several people who have been stranded for extended periods of time because of scheduling or rescheduling of consular appointments, and these have also caused a lot of hardships to their families," Randhir Jaiswal, the MEA spokesperson, said.