US set to start in-country renewal of H-1B visa

Washington: As a part of people-to-people initiative, the United States of America will introduce an in-country renewal of H-1B visas. This significant decision will help thousands of Indian Professionals as they will not have to travel outside the US for visa renewal.

The announcement was made on Thursday, after the bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden.

H-1B is a non-immigrant work visa that allows foreign workers with specialized skills to work in the United States for a specific period of time. It requires specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or the equivalent of work experience. A large number of such workers are Indian nationals.

The visa requires renewal every three years for an employee working in a particular company. It was mandatory for visa holders to travel outside the US, often to their country of origin, at the time of renewal.

“The United States Department of State is going to launch a pilot to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year, including for Indian nationals with the intent to implement this for an expanded pool of H-1 and L visa holders," a senior Biden administration official said.

Indians are the most active users of the H-1B visa program, constituting 73% of H-1B workers in 2022. As per US government data, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta are some of the prominent companies hiring Indians through the H-1B program.