Chicago – January 10, 2024
The Department of State is announcing a pilot program to resume domestic visa renewal for qualified H-1B non-immigrant visa applicants who meet certain requirements. This notice describes the requirements for participating in the pilot and provides information on how those within the pilot program’s bounds may apply for domestic visa renewal.
The pilot program will accept applications from January 29 to April 1, 2024. The applicants who meet the requirements may participate during the application window by applying online at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/domestic-renewal.html.
Participation in this pilot program will be limited to the applicants who(se):
1- Are seeking to renew H-1B visa; during the pilot program phase, the department will not process any other visa classification
2- The prior H-1B visa being renewed was issued by Mission Canada with an issuance date from January 01, 2020, to April 1, 2023, or issued by Mission India with an issuance date from February 01, 2021, through September 30, 2021.
3- Are not subject to nonimmigrant visa issuance fees. (Note: This is commonly known as “reciprocity fee.”)
4- Are eligible for a waiver of an in-person interview
5- Have submitted 10 fingerprints to the Department in connection with a previous visa application
6- Prior visa does not include a “clearance receives” annotation
7- Do not have a visa ineligibility that would require a waiver before visa issuance
8- Have an approves and unexpired H-1B petition
9- Were most recently admitted to the United States on H-1B status
10- Are currently maintaining H-1B status in the United States
11- The period of authorized admission in the H-1B status has not expired
12- Intend to re-enter the United States in H-1B status after a temporary period abroad.
