US Stateside Visa Renewal Process Pilot Expected in Early 2024

Many nonimmigrants in the U.S. have been eagerly awaiting news about the proposed introduction of a process to allow U.S. visa stamp issuance from within the U.S.   On October 17, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) announced that they are planning to lay out more details about the process with possible start date of a pilot process in early 2024.

Details to be Published Soon

DOS has just sent for review a Federal Register notice entitled Pilot Program to Resume Renewal of H-1B Nonimmigrant Visas in the United States for Certain Qualified Noncitizens to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. This document, once published, will lay out the eligibility criteria for participation in the Stateside Visa Renewal pilot program (pilot program).

Anticipated Scope of the Pilot Stateside Visa Renewal Pilot

Full details are have not yet been announced yet but our office understands that the pilot will begin in early 2024, be limited to H-1B principals only,  be limited to nationals of countries that are not subject to visa reciprocity fees, be available for the first 20,000 applicants and will have eligibility requirements similar to those of the interview waiver program.

Again, it is important to underscore that these are preliminary details and that this will be a pilot to test out the operationality of the stateside renewal program.

Conclusion

Our office has been and will continue to monitor developments relating to the stateside visa renewal pilot project.    Given its limited availability, we urge interested applicants to follow this topic very closely and we will be providing alerts on our website and newsletter.

Our office is happy to provide individualized consultations to help evaluate options and prepare for the process. We also invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance.