U.S. plans to resume domestic visa renewals for IT workers

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. intends to resume domestic visa renewals for certain categories including the H-1B type popular among high-skilled IT workers from India and China, a relief for the visa holders currently required to leave the country for the process. A State Department spokesperson said plans call for resuming domestic renewals in "certain petition-based nonimmigrant work visa categories," which include H and L visas. H-1B visas let employers hire high-skilled foreign workers with a bachelor's or higher degree for two three-year periods. L-1 visas let employers transfer executives or managers to the U.S. from overseas offices. The department will begin a pilot program later this year before scaling up to all eligible visa holders. "The Department of State is committed to safeguarding national security while facilitating legitimate travel to the United States," the spokesperson said in an email. "Timely visa processing for both immigrant and nonimmigrant travelers is essential to the U.S. economy and to the administration's goal of family reunification." Domestic renewals were suspended in 2004 after Congress passed the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act in 2002, which required the State Department to collect biometric information on applicants. The department had determined it was easier to collect biometric information at U.S. embassies and consulates, said the Institute for Progress, a Washington-based think tank. But a report by the institute says that domestic capacity for biometric collection has increased, and it calls for domestic reissuance, not only for petition-based visas like H and L but also for others including F (student) and J (exchange visitor) visas. Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, welcomes the plan. ADVERTISING "It provides a lot of certainty to foreign workers and their employers to get the visa in the country before they travel abroad," she said. During the pandemic, many people were stuck overseas waiting for an appointment to obtain visas, Dalal-Dheini said. Some consulates overseas are still not fully staffed, and wait times can be long, she said. Foreign workers with H-1B visas are hoping President Joe Biden's administration also will extend the visa grace period. A recommendation to extend the period to 180 days from 60 for H1-B workers who have lost their jobs came out of a March 14 meeting of the immigration subcommittee of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. When these visa holders are laid off, they need to find a new employer to sponsor their visa status or seek authorization from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to remain in the country, such as by filing an application to switch to visitor status. The current H-1B grace period grants high-skilled foreign workers 60 days to find a new job, file paperwork to change their sponsorship status and receive USCIS approval. Amid the waves of layoffs by tech companies, immigration advocates say it is difficult to find a new employer and complete the process in that time. "I think the recommendation is good. However, if it were to go, implementation will take time," Dalal-Dheini said. The 60-day period was issued in 2017 by a federal regulation, she said, and the administration probably would need to issue a new regulation to expand it -- a process that could take more than a year. As an alternative, Dalal-Dheini hopes the government would adjudicate cases quickly once workers find a new sponsor, expediting them without individuals having to pay the premium processing fee. "Our unemployment levels are very low in the United States right now," Dalal-Dheini said. She cited passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as well as the CHIPS and Science Act, saying "all of those are going to require very skilled workers. As our economy is recovering from the pandemic, those gaps can be filled by foreign workers." "Our legal immigration process is quite difficult, and it's not easy to navigate," she said. "Oftentimes, other countries make it so much easier for people, and we are losing some of that talent to other countries around the world." For more information, visit us at http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/index.html