The Modi Dividend: Pilot Program for Domestic U.S. Visa Stamping for Renewals Will Begin Later This Year

On June 24, 2023, following Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the U.S.,  a joint statement by the U.S. and India was released by the White House that confirmed that the pilot for domestic U.S. Visa Stamping for renewals would happen later this year. The previous update from February 2023 was released by Bloomberg News, and nothing official was updated by the U.S. Department of State. 

Until 2004, the State Department was doing Visa Stamping within the U.S. for renewals of various visa types such as C, E, H, I, L, O, and P. This provision of domestic (meaning within the U.S.) visa re-issuance or renewal was originally intended to provide services to foreign government officials and international organizations’ employees. Eventually, this service of renewal of a U.S. visa was extended to everyone residing in the U.S. and extended to multiple visa types such as C, E, H, I, L, O, and P. This was available until mid-2004.

on June 23, 2004, the State Department announced that it would discontinue the service of getting U.S. visa stamping within the country starting from July 16, 2004. The visa interview requirements changed with Public Law 107- 173, which enhances the border security of the U.S. As per the new requirements from the new law’s section 303, they needed to collect biometrics for the applicants in the United States itself. Back in 2004, they said that the Department of State did not have the facilities, and it was not feasible for them to collect biometrics for applicants within the U.S. This is the main reason for discontinuing the visa stamping for renewals within the U.S.

The idea of getting a visa stamping within the U.S. was first shared in an interview by Bloomberg Law with State Department’s Julie Strufft in February 2023. In that interview, she mentioned that they plan to run a pilot program later in 2023 to test out the U.S. visa renewals option within the U.S. Below are the key takeaways from the interview:

• The U.S. Department of State is planning to run a pilot program to test out stateside/domestic U.S. visa renewals in the latter part of 2023. When they say ‘stateside’ or ‘domestic’, it means ‘within the U.S.’
• The pilot program to renew visas within the U.S. will be targeted mainly at H-1B visa and other temporary visa holders.
• They will primarily focus on H and L visa applicants (H1-B, H4, L1, L2) and later they will expand to other visa types.

On June 22, 2023, the same news of a pilot program to get U.S. visa stamping within the U.S. was shared in the “Joint Statement from the U.S. and India.” This was announced in conjunction with the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S.

Below is the summary of the press briefing by the White House:

• The pilot program (initial test run) for domestic U.S. Visa Stamping for renewals will happen later this year (2023).
• The pilot will be expanded to more H-1B and L visa holders in 2024 for U.S. Visa Stamping within the U.S. for renewals.
• There are no specific dates given by the U.S. State Department yet on when this will start.
• By restoring the previous program of domestic/stateside visa renewals, they plan to save applicants the need to travel out of the country just for visa stamping and also reduce the long wait times for U.S. visa appointments and processing times at consular offices that are outside of the U.S.
• They say they saw all the challenges many applicants faced during the pandemic to get an appointment in their home country and how many got stuck outside the U.S. This program will help solve some of those issues and give more options for users staying in the U.S.
• Many trade organizations, immigration lawyers, and business groups have raised concerns and shared their experiences on challenges that their clients or employees are facing due to the long wait times at the U.S. consulates abroad. All of these have urged the State Department to re-introduce domestic visa renewals for anyone living in the U.S.
• They said that one of the main reasons they could not set up this service last year was due to the challenges of setting up a consular division in Washington, D.C., as it is not a small task.

Now that we have an official update from the White House that the domestic U.S. visa stamping for the renewals would happen later this year, it is much clearer that they will do the pilot this year.

In the coming months, we expect that the Department of State website or the U.S. consulates/embassy websites will share additional details on when the pilot would start.

We do not exactly know, how this whole pilot would work and what the process is for the same. We are yet to hear the official news and plan from the State Department as well.

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Amy Ghosh is a practicing lawyer in Los Angeles. She migrated to the U.S. in 1987 and has been married to a (retired) rocket scientist for 35 years. She has two adult children. Before becoming an attorney, she was a biochemist and worked for several well-known hospitals and laboratories. Ghosh continues to be very much in touch with her motherland India and her favorite city Calcutta. She has recently produced a Bengali movie “Urojahaj-The Flight” by acclaimed filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta. Ghosh is continually looking for meaningful opportunities to contribute to society through her legal and social work.