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The United States is planning to restart the process of revalidating domestic visas in certain categories such as H-1B and L1 visas on a pilot basis later this year, a move that will benefit thousands of foreign tech workers. especially from india,
As of 2004, certain categories of nonimmigrant visas, notably the H-1B, renewed or stamped in America. Thereafter, for renewal of these visas, especially on H-1B, foreign technical workers have to go out of the country, mostly to get the H-1B extension stamped on their passports in their home country.
The full implementation of the pilot project will enable professionals to get stamping done from the US.
For all H-1B visa holders, when their visas are renewed, they are required to have their passports stamped with the renewal dates. This is required if they wish to travel outside the US and re-enter the US. Currently, H-1B visa restamping is not permitted in the US.
Restamping can only be done at any US consulate.
It was also a major inconvenience to foreign guest workers and their employees, especially when visa wait times exceed 800 days or exceed two years.
The much-awaited H-1B visa is issued for three years at a time.
The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
Technology companies depend on it to hire thousands of employees every year from countries like India and China.
“We are seriously working on a plan to reintroduce this service for some petition-based NIV categories, and we hope to have a pilot up and running later this year. Will eliminate the need to go abroad for visa renewal.
The State Department facilitated domestic visa revalidations until 2004 for applicants who were physically present in the US and renewing visas in certain petition-based nonimmigrant visa (NIV) categories, the official said.
“We cannot comment on how many visa holders will be eligible initially, but the pilot will begin with a small number of cases before scaling up over the next 1-2 years,” a State Department spokesperson said in response to a question.
Over the past few months, the Biden administration has taken several steps to streamline the visa processing system and reduce inconvenience.
State Department approval
Notably, this was one of the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, which now appears to have been implemented by the State Department.
Under the current rule, which came into effect in 2004, the process to resume H1-B and L visas is to visit the home country and submit your H1, and L1 visa, passport and documents via dropbox or interview .
People have to wait for months or years for the H1-B visa to be stamped or sometimes they do not get any response after submitting all the documents and are stuck in their home country for more than 2 years. While their families await their return to the US, the President’s commission argued in one of its meetings last year.
Prompted by Silicon Valley’s Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a member of the commission, the presidential commission recommended that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allow the resumption of H1-B and L visas in the US.
It urged USCIS to set up a separate department or unit to resume processing of H1-B and L visas on fresh basis within the US.
The commission felt that the whole process proved too painful for legal immigrants, who have been invited to work in the US to support American companies and the economy.