Changes to US visas : The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has given approval for the H-1B pilot program.
The US State Department gave the green light to a pilot program, as reported by Hindustan Times, allowing 20,000 H-1B visa holders to renew their visas without having to leave the country.
The pilot program successfully cleared the final regulatory step and got the green light from OIRA. It’s set to start in January, targeting an initial group of 20,000 foreign workers.
The officials haven’t told us everything about the pilot program yet. They’ll let everyone know the details when they publish a notice in the Federal Register. They’ve also mentioned that only foreign workers can use this pilot program, not their family members.
The pilot program plans to introduce a much-awaited improvement in the process of renewing visas, a requirement for all foreign workers, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Many H-1B workers currently have to set up an appointment at a US embassy or consular office to get a visa stamp before coming back to the country after traveling abroad. This is also intended to make the wait times for consular services shorter.
The plans for H-1B workers and their employers are facing more uncertainty because getting visas in countries like India is taking a long time.
Starting in January, the US State Department is introducing a new program allowing a limited number of H-1B visa holders to renew their visas within the United States.
If you’re currently working in the United States with an H-1B specialty occupation visa, you can renew it by mailing your application to the State Department. Just remember, you can’t leave the country while they’re processing your renewal, as per reports from HT.
But here’s the catch: it’s not clear how they’ll select the first 20,000 people for this program. The State Department’s main goal is to make the waiting time for travel applications to the US shorter, and this new effort plays a part in that plan.
This program, which is bringing back a rule that hasn’t been used for nearly twenty years, is specifically for renewing work visas. It’s designed to help people who are permanent residents of the United States and want to renew their work visas without having to go abroad.
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