State Department To Bring Back Domestic Visa Renewal for Some Foreign Workers

For nearly two decades, the vast majority of foreign nationals working in the United States have been able to renew their visas only by returning to their home countries and obtaining a visa stamp at a U.S. embassy or consulate. Only workers on diplomatic visas can renew them in the United States. But that will change when the State Department brings back domestic visa renewals for some nondiplomatic foreign workers.

Foreigners working in the U.S. on H and L visas will be eligible for the targeted pilot program. That move will be especially significant for H-1B workers, who are employed in highly specialized jobs. As of 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reported that roughly 583,000 authorized-to-work H-1B holders were present in the country. The renewal program could eventually be expanded to other visa holders, according to a Bloomberg News interview with Julie Stufft, deputy assistant secretary for visa services in the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Historically, all U.S.-based foreign workers could renew their visas without leaving the United States. But the State Department discontinued stateside visa renewal in 2004 as a result of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act, a post-9/11 law intended to enhance security in the visa issuance process. The law’s precautionary provisions included additional interview requirements and the gathering of biometric identifiers. The State Depart