Stateside Visa Renewal Pilot Program

December 21st, 2023
Posted By
Heather Sivaraman

On December 21, 2023, the Department of State announced that on January 29, 2024, they will launch a pilot program for stateside domestic H-1B nonimmigrant visa renewals for eligible applicants.

Participation in this pilot program will be limited to applicants who(se):

  1. Are seeking to renew an H-1B visa; during the pilot phase, the Department will not process any other visa classifications;
  2. Prior H-1B visa that is being renewed was issued by Mission Canada with an issuance date from January 1, 2020, through April 1, 2023; or by Mission India with an issuance date of February 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021;
  3. Are not subject to a nonimmigrant visa issuance fee (Note: this is commonly referred to as a “reciprocity fee”);
  4. Are eligible for a waiver of the in-person interview requirement;
  5. Have submitted ten fingerprints to the Department in connection with a previous visa application;
  6. Prior visa does not include a “clearance received” annotation;
  7. Do not have a visa ineligibility that would require a waiver prior to visa issuance;
  8. Have an approved and unexpired H-1B petition;
  9. Were most recently admitted to the United States in H-1B status;
  10. Are currently maintaining H-1B status in the United States;
  11. Period of authorized admission in H-1B status has not expired; and
  12. Intend to reenter the United States in H-1B status after a temporary period abroad.

Those who qualify may apply online between January 29 and April 1 at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/domesticrenewal.html. Each week, the Department will release approximately 2,000 application slots for applicants whose most recent H-1B visas were issued by Mission Canada, and approximately 2,000 application slots for those whose most recent H-1B visas were issued by Mission India. After online submission of the DS-160 and payment of the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) application processing fee, applicants will receive instructions through the portal to send their passports and other required documents via USPS or commercial courier service to the Department of State.

The average processing time is expected to be six to eight weeks from the time that the passport and other required documents are received. The Department aims to complete processing all applications no later than May 1, 2024.

For more information:

AILA Public Statement

Federal Register Notice

Categories: Immigration