[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 35121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14245]



[[Page 35121]]

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 4747]


Discontinuation of Reissuance of Certain Nonimmigrant Visas in 
the United States

    This public notice announces the discontinuation of our domestic 
visa reissuance service for certain nonimmigrant visas in the United 
States. Nonimmigrant visas issued under section 101(a)(15) C, E, H, I, 
L, O and P of the Immigration and Nationality Act will be affected by 
this suspension. We will accept no new applications from applicants 
seeking to renew C, E, H, I, L, O or P visas after July 16, 2004. To be 
processed, applications must be received by our application acceptance 
facility in St. Louis by July 16, 2004. Any application received after 
this date will be returned, using the sender's required self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or pre-paid courier airbill. Please note that we 
ceased processing applications for reissuance of A-3, G-5 and NATO-7 
visas in the United States in September 2002. We will continue to 
receive applications for reissuance of qualifying diplomatic and 
official visas in Washington, DC in (classifications A-1, A-2, G-1, G-
2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5 and NATO-6).
    22 CFR 41.111(b) authorizes the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa 
Services or any other person he or she designates to reissue 
nonimmigrant visas, in their discretion. The original purpose of this 
authority was to provide nonimmigrant services to foreign government 
officials and to international organization employees. Over time, the 
authority was extended to include reissuances in the C, E, H, I, L, O 
and P visa classifications. We recognize that the domestic reissuance 
of business-related visas to applicants in the United States has been a 
convenience to the international business community. However, we are 
discontinuing the reissuance of visas in these categories because of 
increased interview requirements and the requirement of Section 303 of 
the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act (Pub. L. 107-
173, 116 Stat. 543) that U.S. visas issued after October 26, 2004, 
include biometric identifiers. It is not feasible for the Department to 
collect the biometric identifiers in the United States.
    In order to mitigate the inconvenience to applicants, we will 
direct all visa adjudicating posts to accommodate on a priority basis 
applicants who would have benefited from our visa reissuance services. 
Visa interview appointments may be made for some posts through Internet 
sites or by telephone. Additional information regarding posts and visa 
interview appointment systems may be found at http://usembassy.state.gov. We encourage all applicants to apply in their home 
countries. Our visa adjudicating posts in Mexico and Canada have some 
capacity to accept nonimmigrant visa applications from stateside 
applicants. In all cases, applicants should obtain an interview 
appointment before traveling.

    Dated: June 10, 2004.
Maura Harty,
Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 04-14245 Filed 6-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P