In a recent interview with Bloomberg Law, The State Department confirmed starting a new pilot program later this year, which would offer visa renewal options in the US for H-1B specialty occupation workers and L-1visa holders who are currently required to travel abroad.
Key provisions of the new pilot program:
- Restoration of stateside visa renewal provisions, which the department discontinued in 2014.Â
- The new program will save those applicants from having to leave the country for the renewal process.
- The new program aims to reduce the workload of consular offices abroad,Â
Check our H1-B guide for the Cap season 2024
The announcement is a successor to the Department of State’s indication during last year’s AILA conference around restarting the visa revalidation program. The earlier revalidation program required applicants to send their passports to Washington, DC, for Visa renewal.Â
What does the firm think?
We are glad to hear more concrete plans on this subject. The new program can alleviate the risk of applicants leaving the country and not being able to come back if their visa gets denied. Some H-1b workers who have been in the country for ten years ( due to the long wait times for Green Cards) or more get stuck outside the country with their families in the US.
If you are looking for legal support in the current announcement, you can reach our team at the Law Offices of Prashanthi Reddy.Â
