USA: good news for H1B visa-holders as Biden govt plans 'domestic revalidation' stamping pilot project

In a move that could benefit thousands of foreign workers in the USA, including many Indians, the Joe Biden administration is planning to resume "domestic visa revalidation", as per the news agency PTI.

If implemented fully, the move would benefit Indian tech professionals working in America on H1B and L1 visas. The US government is initially planning to start a pilot project in certain categories and scale it up in subsequent years.

Until 2004, certain categories of non-immigrant visas like H1B could be stamped for an extension inside the US. After 2004, people had to go outside the US, mostly to their own countries, to get H1B and other visas extended, the PTI report said.

For all the H1B visa holders, when their visa is renewed, they need to get their passports stamped with renewal dates. This is required if they wish to travel outside of the US and re-enter the US. As of now, H1B visa restamping is not allowed within the US.

Restamping can only be done at any US consulate. This was a big inconvenience for foreign guest workers and also for their employees, particularly at a time when the visa wait time is more than 800 days or more than two years.

The much-sought-after H1B visas are issued for three years at a time. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

(With PTI inputs)