Washington, Jinn 23, 2004
Surinder Malhotra
NO MORE- Revalidating (or Renewing) Visas in the U.S.
The categories for which the US State Department here would not
renew visas- E (Trader/ Investor), H (Speciality occupation workers),
I (Journalists), L (Intra-company transferee), O (Workers with extraordinary
abilities) and P (Athletes and entertainers).
The move will also affect thousands of hi-tech workers from India.
Half of the H visa-holders - high-tech workers - and half of the L visa
holders - namely those brought for work here by foreign companies with
operations here - are Indians.
The Revalidation Division is discontinuing its domestic visa revalidation
(or reissuance) service. Notification of the discontinuation of domestic
visa revalidation services was published in the Federal Register on
June 23, 2004. The Division will CLOSE TO NEW APPLICATIONS ON JULY 16,
2004. ALL APPLICATIONS FOR VISA REVALIDATIONS IN THE E, H, I, L, O,
OR P CATEGORIES MUST BE RECEIVED IN THE ST. LOUIS PROCESSING OFFICE
ON OR BEFORE JULY 16, 2004.
Applications and supporting documentation received after July 16 will
be returned.
Applications for visa revalidation following a 221(g) refusal and requests
for corrections must be submitted to the Revalidation Division in Washington
no later than September 30, 2004.
"H, O, L and P are temporary worker visas. Category E are the
treaty trader and investors who come and Category I are journalists
who come to work in the United States," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said.
New applications will continue to be processed in the order in which
they are received. All information in the sections below on the revalidation
process remains valid.
After many years of service, the Revalidation Division must discontinue
its domestic revalidation service for E, H, I, L, O, and P visas. Section
303 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act requires
the Department of State to collect a biometric identifier (fingerprint)
from all non-diplomatic visa applicants. It is not feasible for the
Department of State to collect the biometric identifiers.
We encourage all applicants to apply for new visas in their home
countries. If you are not traveling to your home country, you may
apply at a U.S. visa processing post in Canada and Mexico provided
you have made a visa interview appointment. You may also apply at a
U.S. visa processing post in a third country provided you have made
an interview appointment. You should understand that if there is a delay
in visa issuance, you may need to spend more time overseas than you
originally planned. Information on U.S. visa processing posts and their
visa interview appointment systems is at http://usembassy.state.gov.
A business associate, friend, or relative may need to make the visa
interview appointment for you. We have directed our visa processing
posts to give priority to applicants who would have benefited from our
domestic visa revalidation