On November 28, 2023, the Department of State (“DOS”) announced the launch of a Pilot Program which will permit an initial Twenty Thousand H-1B visa holders to renew their visas by mailing them to the State Department rather than having to travel abroad to renew. The program which was first made public in February 2023 is set to debut in January 2024.
Read morePilot Program for H and L Visa Renewal in the US Announced
Keeping in line with its efforts to improve visa processing backlogs at the consulates and embassies around the world, the Department of State (“DOS”) announced a plan to launch a pilot program for H and L visa holders to renew their visas in the US, instead of having to travel abroad. In an interview with Bloomberg Law, Julie Stufft, deputy assistant secretary for visa services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, shared the news of the program that should be initiated later this year.
In 2004, the DOS discontinued domestic visa reissuance service for certain nonimmigrant visas in the United States. Restarting the program by permitting certain H and L visa holders to revalidate their visas domestically, rather than having to travel internationally to renew their visas, is the latest means DOS is planning to take to alleviate the visa application backlogs that developed at consulates as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will keep you updated as more details surrounding the launch of the pilot program become available.
Changes Implemented at US Embassy and Consulates in India to Alleviate Visa Processing Backlogs
Following the Department of State’s (“DOS”) October 2022 update on its efforts to improve visa processing backlogs that resulted due to worldwide embassy closures throughout the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its commitment to lowering visa interview wait times , the United States Mission in India has expanded its services. Beginning January 21, 2023, the US Embassy in New Delhi and Consulates in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata have opened consular operations on Saturdays to accommodate first-time visa applicants who require in-person visa interviews.
Read moreA Somber Fact
Department of State Provides Update on Visa Processing Backlogs
The Department of State (“DOS”) published an update on the their efforts to tackle the visa backlogs that they have been faced with worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOS is committed to lowering visa interview wait times and optimistically reports embassies and consulates are “recovering faster than projected” and will return to pre-pandemic processing capacity this year.
Read moreIndian Nationals Struggle with Visa Backlogs
Physical Presence in Country of Application Required when Mailing in Visa Applications
US Embassies and Consulates are staffed with Foreign Service Officers who are responsible for visa processing. The Foreign Affairs Manual (“FAM”) and associated Handbooks (FAHs) are “a single, comprehensive, and authoritative source for the Department's organization structures, policies, and procedures that govern the operations of the State Department, the Foreign Service and, when applicable, other federal agencies.” The FAM contains general policy, whilst the FAH outlines procedures. In unison, the FAM and FAH provide codified information to officers and local staff to carry out their duties “in accordance with statutory, executive and Department mandates.”
Read moreAs the US Opens for International Travel, Some Remain in Limbo
As previously reported, international travel to the United States was reopened for vaccinated visitors on Monday, November 8, 2021, as a result of President Biden’s Presidential Proclamation. Previously, tourists and visitors who were physically present in the United Kingdom, Ireland, countries in the European Schengen Area, Brazil, China, India, Iran, and South Africa during the fourteen-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into US were subject to travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These restrictions, which barred entry for most non-US nationals have been officially lifted, for those who are fully vaccinated. Travel remains restricted for people who were vaccinated with non-WHO-approved vaccines, such as the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, and the Chinese CanSino vaccine.
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