In an effort to address ongoing backlogs and long wait times for visa interviews at some U.S. consular posts outside the United States, including the ongoing significant backlogs at Mission India, the U.S. Department of State announced in an interview with Bloomberg Law, that it will be launching a pilot program later this year offering certain nonimmigrant visa holders the option to renew their visa stamp from within the United States, a process known as “Stateside Visa Revalidation”, which was discontinued in 2004.
While individuals are currently required to travel abroad to renew visa stamps, the pilot program would permit certain H and L visa holders to revalidate their visas from within the United States. While the State Department has yet to release many details about the rollout of the pilot program, they indicated that it could be expanded to other visa categories in the future and is expected to provide additional relief to certain consular posts that continue to experience high demand and continued backlogs following the COVID-19 pandemic.