VISA Revalidations

The Department of State has announced that it will no longer continue the domestic visa revalidation service for certain non-immigrant visas in the United States.  The visa revalidation program has previously benefited employees in the United States in H-1B status or L-1 intra-company status who have been able to apply for renewal visas while in the United States as opposed to abroad at a U.S. Embassy or consulate.  DOS has decided to discontinue such service because all U.S. visas issued after October 26, 2004 must include biometric identifiers.  The Department of State has been unable to devise a system to allow for collecting such biometric identifiers and processing such visas.  Note that employees who extend their status while in the United States, but do not travel outside the Untied States, do not need to have their visas revalidated until such time as they actually leave the country and require a new visa stamp to reenter the United States.