At Brown Immigration Law, we strive to be your company's partner in growth and innovation, on a global scale. We continue our commitment to demystifying the complex immigration laws of the United States and Canada to provide efficient and effective immigration and global mobility support. Please find this month's breaking immigration news below.
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U.S. BREAKING NEWS
State Side Visa Renewal Program Begins January 29, 2024 for Certain H-1B Holders – Important Details Below
In a notice published in the Federal Register December 21, 2023, the Department of State announced the beginning of the state-side visa renewal pilot program for a limited pool of H-1B holders. The pilot program will run from January 29, 2024 to April 1, 2024 with a total of 20,000 slots available for the pilot program.
To qualify for the pilot program, very specific criteria must be met:
- Applicant is seeking an H-1B visa
- H4's are not included in the pilot phase, limited to only H-1Bs.
- Must hold a previous H-1B visa from Mission Canada or Mission
India with specific dates:
- Prior H-1B visa that is being renewed was issued by Mission Canada with an issuance date from January 1, 2020, through April 1, 2023;
- or by Mission India with an issuance date of February 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021
- Not subject to nonimmigrant visa issuance fee (reciprocity fee; information here)
- Eligible for waiver of in-person interview requirement (information here)
- Previously submitted ten fingerprints to the DOS in connection with a previous visa application.
- No "clearance received" annotation on a prior visa stamp.
- No waiver required for issuance of visa due to inadmissibility or other limiting factor.
- Hold an approved and unexpired H-1B petition.
- Most recently admitted to the U.S. in H-1B status.
- Period of authorized admission in H-1B status has not expired.
- Intend to re-enter the United States in H-1B status after a temporary period abroad; and
- Must reside in the United States.
The Department of State has indicated that their pilot program
is limited to Canada and India because they believe this population
will be representative to determine whether the program will work.
Participation in this program is voluntary and applicants may
continue to pursue overseas visa applications if urgent travel
arises, but fees paid will not be refunded. Additionally, the DOS
reserves the right to request additional information during the
state side visa issuance process.
On the below noted dates, the Department of State will open up this website for
entries into the pilot program. Each week, the department of state
will accept a total of 4,000 – 2,000 from Mission India and
2,000 from Mission Canada. The Dates are as follows:
- 01/29/2024
- 02/05/2024
- 02/12/2024
- 02/19/2024
- 02/26/2024
To verify the information on your most recent H-1B visa, please review the below example. In the top left corner, under 'Issuing Post Name' the visa sticker will list the location which last issued your visa. The issuance date is also highlighted below. To qualify, this must be a location in India or Canada, issued within the above noted dates.
If you believe you may qualify for this program, please contact your BIL attorney as soon as possible for an assessment and further detailed instructions. The website will lock each week after the requisite number of slots (4,000) have been filed.
We welcome this program from the Department of State and hope that the pilot is successful to permit expanded visa types in the program for the future. We will continue to monitor and provide updates as they become available.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
