United States | Immigration | Stateside visa renewal pilot program begins January 29

December 20, 2023

United States | Immigration | Stateside visa renewal pilot program begins January 29

Impact [Medium] 

Summary 
Beginning January 29, 2024, the Department of State will accept applications for domestic visa renewal for H-1B nonimmigrant visa applications for applicants who meet certain criteria.  The pilot program was created to reduce worldwide visa wait times and shift some workload to the US. The program will run until April 1, 2024.  The Department of State had previously allowed for domestic visa renewal, but discontinued this program in 2004 as a security precaution following the attacks of 9/11.

The detail  
The Department of State (“DOS”) has created a pilot program that will accept applications for domestic visa renewal for qualified H-1B nonimmigrant visa applications. The program will run from January 29, 2024 to April 1, 2024 and will only accept H-1B applicants who reside in the United States and had H-1B visas issued previously in Canada or India.  The DOS will only accept 2,000 applications from H-1B applicants who received H-1B visas in India and 2,000 applications from H-1B applicants who received H-1B visas in Canada (for a total of 4,000 applications weekly). Applications will be accepted on the following dates: January 29, February 5, February 12, February 19, and February 26.

In addition to the above, the pilot program will only accept applications from individuals meeting the following criteria:

• Individuals seeking to renew an H-1B visa during the timeline of the program.
• Individuals possessing prior H-1B visas issued from January 1, 2020 through April 1, 2023 in Canada and those who have prior H-1B visas issued from February 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 in India.
• Individuals not subject to the nonimmigrant visa issuance fee (reciprocity fee).
• Individuals who are eligible for waiver of the in-person interview requirement.
• Individuals who have submitted ten fingerprints to the DOS in connection with a previous visa application.
• Individuals whose prior visa does not have the “clearance received” annotation.
• Individuals who do not have visa ineligibility that would require a waiver prior to visa issuance.
• Individuals who have an approved and unexpired H-1B petition.
• Individuals who were most recently admitted to the US in H-1B status.
• Individuals who are currently maintaining H-1B status in the US.
• Individuals whose period of authorized admission in H-1B status has not expired.
• Individuals who intend to reenter the US in H-1B status after a temporary period abroad.

Under this program the average processing time for the domestic visa renewal application is expected to be six to eight weeks from the time the passport and other required documents are received by the DOS, and all applications will be processed no later than May 1, 2024.  No requests for expedited processing will be accepted.  However, the DOS will return a passport before processing is completed if the applicant has unanticipated travel plans.

The DOS is not currently accepting applications for the dependents of H-1B applicants (those holding an H-4 visa) or any other visa type.  The DOS anticipates expansion to other visa categories based on the success of the pilot program.

What this means  
This program will allow certain H-1B holders who are currently facing long wait times for visa renewals in India and Canada to apply for their visa renewals in the United States. This program will also test how the DOS can help alleviate the workload from overseas offices.  This is a welcome change for employers and H-1B visa applicants who often faced difficulty in securing an appointment at a US Consulate and extended processing times.

Contact us 
Please reach out to:

Manish Daftari

to discuss further.

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