Explained: How H1-B domestic visa renewal will benefit Indian techies

The pilot programme for the domestic renewal of certain categories of H-1B visas, which has been cleared by the review by White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, will benefit Indian technology professionals working in the IT sector in United States. 

Under the pilot,  qualified H-1B visa applicants will not have to travel abroad to renew the work visa. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. 

H-1B visas are valid for an initial three-year period. They then can be renewed for an additional three years. Beyond that period, additional extensions are allowed with an approved green card petition. Similar requirements apply to L visa holders. By offering domestic renewal of H-1B and L visas, U.S. consular offices in countries with the biggest source of H-1B holders, including India and China, are freed up to address ongoing backlogs. Additionally, employers are not affected when a visa holder must leave the country and return.

Initially, the said pilot program will address 20,000 work visa renewals of an estimated 583,420 H1-B visa holders, which shall expand with time. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa services in the bureau of Consular Affairs, US has stated that out of the 20,000 visas Indian Nationals would be a majority. 

A notification on the federal register will be released shortly, outlining the requirements and identifying the candidates for the first tranche of applications.

"When we consider our efforts to modernize the visa process, this may ultimately have the most far-reaching impact. Exciting to see domestic visa renewal on the horizon, after much preparation. U.S. Department of State," said Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State on LinkedIn.

According to data from the US embassy released in September, 65 per cent of H and L category visas, which are meant for employment, are held by Indians. In 2022, over 1.2 million Indians visited the US, making this one of the most robust travel relationships in the world. Indians now represent over 10 per cent of all US visa applicants worldwide, including 20 per cent of all student visa applicants. 

Immigration lawyers have been urging the US to reinstate domestic visa renewals, which ended in 2004. Renewing a visa often means incurring significant expenses to travel abroad and secure an appointment at a US consulate, which often leads to months of delay, disrupting an employee's life.

With backlogs caused by both the pandemic and an increase in travel to the U.S., it can often take several weeks for a foreign national to secure a visa appointment abroad, leaving a significant amount of uncertainty for both the foreign national employees and their US employers. 

"The pilot program is part of the US Department of State’s efforts to reduce these visa appointment backlogs and create a more efficient US visa processing system. Although this is a new and welcomed announcement, it is not an entirely new policy – up until 2004, the U.S. Department of State allowed for the domestic renewal of certain visas. The details for the pilot program have not been announced but are expected to be included within an upcoming Federal Register notice, and the limited program should be operational in the new year. Other policies that the U.S. Department of State is reviewing in order to update its processes and address certain backlogs are waiving visa interviews for certain visa categories and transferring to paperless or digital visas," said Kaitlin T Beck, associate at HSB law firm. 

In 2004, the US stopped the domestic renewal of certain work-related, non-immigrant visas as the agency did not meet post-9/11 requirements, such as collecting biometric data, set by the passage of Section 303 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act.

Soayib Qureshi, Partner, PSL Advocates & Solicitors, explains how Indian techies will benefit:

1 Working professionals would not have to travel back to India for a visa appointment to get their visa renewed. H-1B holders will be able to renew their visas by mailing them to the US state department rather than travel outside the US. 

2 Travelling to renew visas for foreign national employees usually is a huge burden because of airline costs and potential lengthy waits for visa appointments of processing. 

3 The current wait time for visa renewal is approximately six to 12 months, which causes apprehension for  IT professionals and companies from granting jobs to foreign nationals, especially Indians, which can now be avoided in light of the current Pilot Program.

4 The renewal process will become streamlined allowing the US missions in India to enable more fresh applications and lesser waiting time the new applicants. 

5 The IT services sector will now have the opportunity to land more contracts that would enable them to transfer workers from India to the US on a temporary and permanent basis. This will enable people to make a little extra money, which is beneficial for India's foreign exchange remittances.

6 As a result of increased travel and disposable income, working professionals will either spend or remit to India, resulting in strengthening of economy for both the countries.

7 Traveling to the home base for an ambiguous period of time for refreshment impedes productivity and advancement for professionals on crucial projects and jobs which will now be prevented.

The pilot programme  could be more impactful if the dependents of the H1B visa holders were also covered under the ambit of this initiative, said Qureshi.  However, the same is a progressive step towards US-India relations as Indian professions (especially in the IT Sector) constitute the largest amongst the H1-B visa holders in the US.

“We will do 20,000 in the first group. The vast majority of those will be Indian nationals living in the US and we will expand as it goes on. Because Indians are the largest skilled group of workers in the United States, we hope that India will benefit quite a bit from this programme and it will prevent people from having to travel back to India or anywhere for a visa appointment to get their visa renewed. It will allow our missions in India to concentrate on new applicants,” Stufft told PTI last month.