Law Office of Leila Freijy PLLC
Immigration & Compliance Law 
In-country visa revalidation pilot to begin
In an interview with Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Visa Services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Bloomberg Law reported this week that the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will launch a pilot program later this year offering stateside visa renewals for H-1B and other temporary visa holders.
 
The DOS did previously offer in-country visa revalidation, but that practice was discontinued in 2004.
 
Visa revalidation is the process by which an individual who has previously been issued a visa stamp by a U.S. Consulate abroad and whose status is extended in the U.S. can request that a new visa be issued in their passport without having to depart the U.S. In the past, the passport, new approval notice and completed DS-160 visa application form were mailed to the DOS in Washington, DC. Once the new visa was issued, the passport and approval notice were mailed back to the applicant. 
 
In the past, visa revalidation only applied to requesting a new visa of the same type. An individual applying for a particular visa for the first time (for example, the first H-1B visa stamp) was required to apply at a U.S. Consulate abroad.
 
We will have to wait for the DOS to reveal the procedures that will be involved in the new visa revalidation process and to learn more about the pilot program.
 
Reinstating visa revalidation will help to alleviate several problems associated with visa issuance abroad including:
 
  • Difficulty in scheduling visa appointments at U.S. Consulates abroad.
  • Lengthy travel within the foreign country for biometrics processing and to visit the Consulate or Drop Box facility.
  • Uncertainly involved in being selected for Administrative Processing.

We will provide additional updates as the DOS releases more information about this upcoming pilot program. No date has been announced for the start of the pilot program.
This client alert is being provided only to company representatives. Please share with your foreign national staff as you see fit or direct them to our web site where this client alert will be posted.

If you have any questions or concerns about the information provided in this email, please don't hesitate to contact me.
 
Sincerely,

Leila Freijy
Law Office of Leila Freijy PLLC
Law Office of Leila Freijy PLLC| FreijyLaw.com
Immigration & Compliance Law
Leila Freijy, Esq.
3150 Livernois Rd #103
Troy, MI 48083
248.817,8280
248.287.4115 (fax)