State Department Plans Pilot Program to Bring Back Domestic Visa Renewal

The Department of State has announced plans to launch a pilot program later this year offering visa renewal opportunities in the United States for individuals in H-1B and L-1 status. Currently, visa holders in H-1B and L-1 status (and other nonimmigrant statuses) are required to travel abroad if they want to renew the visa in their passport (which allows them to travel abroad and then enter the U.S. in that status). Stateside visa renewals were allowed in the past, but they were discontinued in 2004. By allowing stateside visa renewal, the Department of State will let applicants renew their visas without having to spend time and money renewing those visas abroad. Wait times for visa appointments abroad ballooned during the pandemic, especially in countries like India, and they have slowly lessened as the pandemic has receded. Even now, in countries like India, visa appointments are still backlogged for months, meaning that applicants must carefully plan their travel in advance to avoid lengthy waits abroad. The Department of State has not set a definite date for the start of the program, but it should begin later this year. The hope is that this program will be more convenient for workers and their employers, and will also lessen wait times abroad.

USCIS Announced Premium Processing will be Available for F-1 Students Seeking OPT and STEM OPT Work Authorization

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced earlier this month it will immediately allow F-1 students with pending Employment Authorization Document (EAD) requests for OPT or STEM OPT to file premium processing requests which will allow for quicker adjudication times. Beginning on April 3, individuals who are filing their EAD requests may file those together with a premium processing request. This is great news for F-1 students who in the past had to wait several months to get their EADs issued. 

For more information on this topic or to learn how Godfrey & Kahn can help, please contact a member of our Immigration Practice Group.