[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 244 (Thursday, December 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88467-88470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28160]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 12235]
RIN 1400-AF79


Pilot Program To Resume Renewal of H-1B Nonimmigrant Visas in the 
United States for Certain Qualified Noncitizens

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice of pilot program.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State (the ``Department'') is announcing a 
pilot program to resume domestic visa renewal for qualified H-1B 
nonimmigrant visa applicants who meet certain requirements. This notice 
describes the requirements for participation in the pilot and provides 
information on how those falling within the bounds of the pilot program 
may apply for domestic visa renewal.

DATES: The pilot program will accept applications from January 29 to 
April 1, 2024. Applicants who meet the requirements may choose to 
participate during the application window by applying online at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/domestic-renewal.html. Written comments and related materials must be received 
on or before midnight April 15, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments, identified by 
Department docket number DOS-2023-0042 or RIN 1400-AF79, through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
website instructions for submitting comments. A summary of this rule is 
also available at www.regulations.gov by searching for ``1400-AF79'' 
from the home page.
    Comments submitted in a manner other than the one listed above, 
including emails or letters sent to Department officials, will not be 
considered comments on the Notice, and may not be considered by the 
Department.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jami Thompson, Senior Regulatory 
Coordinator, Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of 
State; email: state.gov">VisaRegs@state.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Participation: The Department invites 
all interested parties to submit written data, views, comments, and 
arguments on all aspects of this Notice. Comments must be submitted in 
English, or an English translation must be provided. Comments that will 
provide the most assistance to the Department should comment on the 
proposal to provide for renewal of visas within the United States. Do 
not submit case inquiries, case numbers, bar code numbers, or 
photographs from any vias application. The Department does not intend 
to address comments as part of this pilot, but will consider relevant 
comments in deciding on any future rulemaking.
    Instructions: If you submit a comment, you must include the agency 
name and the RIN 1400-AF79 for this Notice in the title or body of the 
comment. Submitted comments will be publicly posted to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at www.regualtions.gov. Therefore, you may wish to 
consider limiting the amount of personal information that you provide. 
The Department may withhold from public viewing information provided in 
comments that it determines offensive. For additional information, 
please read the Privacy Act notice available in the footer at 
www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket and to read background documents 
or comments received, go to www.regulations.gov, referencing RIN 1400-
AF79. You may also sign up for email alerts on the online docket to be 
notified when comments are posted.

I. Background

    In 2004, the Department discontinued the domestic renewal of non-
diplomatic nonimmigrant visas primarily because of the passage of the 
Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 
107-173), which required that U.S. visas issued after October 26, 2004, 
include biometric identifiers \1\ (69 FR 35121). Then, as now, the 
State Department did not possess the capacity to collect fingerprints 
in the United States, so all non-diplomatic visa applicants were 
required to apply for new visas outside of the United States where 
fingerprints can be collected at a U.S. embassy, consulate or, for 
certain posts, at an offsite contract facility. For purposes of 
implementing this pilot, however, those prior concerns are overcome, as 
participation in the pilot is limited to individuals who have 
previously submitted fingerprints in connection with the application 
for the prior visa, are eligible for a waiver of the in-person 
interview requirement and meet other applicable requirements. The

[[Page 88468]]

goal of this pilot is to test the Department's technical and 
operational ability to resume domestic visa renewals for specific 
nonimmigrant classifications and to assess the efficacy of this program 
in reducing worldwide visa wait times by shifting certain workloads 
from overseas posts to the United States.
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    \1\ In 2004, the Department, in coordination with the Department 
of Homeland Security, determined that biometric identifiers should 
include two fingerprints and a photograph (69 FR 78515). In 2010, 
the standard was changed to ten fingerprints and a photograph (75 FR 
39323). Certain individuals under the age of 14 and those age 80 or 
over are exempt from the fingerprint requirement.
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II. Pilot Program and Requirements for Participation

    Pursuant to 22 CFR 41.111(b)(3), the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Visa Services (VO DAS) and Department officials designated by them, are 
authorized to issue, in their discretion, nonimmigrant visas in the 
United States, to qualified applicants who meet specific criteria. 
Based on this discretionary authority, the VO DAS sets the limitations 
and parameters of the domestic renewal pilot, including establishing 
parameters that limit the types of applications that fall within the 
pilot's scope. Consequently, applicants that fall outside of this scope 
are not eligible to apply for, nor be issued, a visa domestically.
    Participation in this pilot will be limited to applicants who(se):
    1. Are seeking to renew an H-1B visa; during the pilot phase, the 
Department will not process any other visa classifications;
    2. Prior H-1B visa that is being renewed was issued by Mission 
Canada with an issuance date from January 1, 2020, through April 1, 
2023; or by Mission India with an issuance date of February 1, 2021, 
through September 30, 2021;
    3. Are not subject to a nonimmigrant visa issuance fee (Note: this 
is commonly referred to as a ``reciprocity fee'');
    4. Are eligible for a waiver of the in-person interview 
requirement;
    5. Have submitted ten fingerprints to the Department in connection 
with a previous visa application;
    6. Prior visa does not include a ``clearance received'' annotation;
    7. Do not have a visa ineligibility that would require a waiver 
prior to visa issuance;
    8. Have an approved and unexpired H-1B petition;
    9. Were most recently admitted to the United States in H-1B status;
    10. Are currently maintaining H-1B status in the United States;
    11. Period of authorized admission in H-1B status has not expired; 
and
    12. Intend to reenter the United States in H-1B status after a 
temporary period abroad.
    Some of these requirements are mandated by statute or regulation. 
Others are discretionary requirements and are designed to limit the 
pilot population to a size that is manageable and consistent with 
available resources, and control the costs of conducting the pilot, 
while still testing the efficacy of a domestic renewals program.
    Specifically, the Department is limiting the scope of the pilot to 
applicants who were previously issued visas within specified dates by 
Missions Canada or India to properly assess the performance and 
capabilities of contractors who manage the majority of the Department's 
worldwide visa processing. The population of visa applicants in India 
and Canada is sufficiently representative of the global population and 
visa issuances during the referenced periods provide enough cases to 
make the pilot results meaningful, without overwhelming available 
resources.
    Additionally, the Department is limiting the scope of the pilot to 
include only H-1B applicants. After careful consideration, the Visa 
Office determined that including other visa categories, including H-4s 
(dependents of H-1B principal applicants), created additional technical 
and operational challenges that cannot be resolved before the pilot 
launch date. For instance, developing standard operating procedures and 
training staff to recommence domestic renewals is a time-consuming 
process that requires months of practice currently underway for H-1B 
adjudications. Developing processes to adjudicate additional visa 
categories will continue concurrent with the pilot, leveraging real 
time data and feedback to expand the program.
    Limiting the pilot to only H-1B principal applicants will also 
maximize the Department's direct impact on U.S. industry partners, 
whose H-1B employees may need to travel abroad for work purposes and 
risk being unable to immediately return if their visa is expired.
    As the Department does not conduct in-person nonimmigrant visa 
interviews or collect fingerprints domestically, a key requirement for 
participation in the pilot is that applicants for domestic visa renewal 
must qualify for a waiver of the in-person interview requirement under 
section 222(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and have 
fingerprints on file with the Department that may be used for biometric 
vetting. Just like any individual applying for a nonimmigrant visa 
overseas, including those whose in-person interview is waived, all 
applicants for domestic visa renewal must undergo screening and 
vetting. With certain exceptions set out in the law, most applicants 
seeking to renew their H-1B visas, whether overseas or domestically, 
within 48 months of the expiration of their prior visa in the same 
classification, will be eligible for a waiver of the in-person 
interview requirement. Based on statutory requirements for an interview 
waiver under INA section 222(h)(2), applicants for domestic visa 
renewal must reside in the United States. Applicants are not required 
to submit evidence of residence in the United States at the time they 
submit their application beyond the information requested in the visa 
application; however, additional information may be requested at any 
time prior to visa issuance.
    Some applicants may not be fully aware of the facts that caused 
them to be ineligible for interview waiver, even though the reasons are 
tied to a specific statutory ground. For example, applicants requiring 
a Department clearance are ineligible for interview waiver, but such 
clearance requirements are not public information. Any such requirement 
would be based on the applicant's individual circumstances. Applicants 
who do not meet the requirements for domestic adjudication as published 
in this notice, including eligibility for a waiver of the in-person 
interview requirement, are not eligible to apply for, nor be issued a 
visa domestically. Fees will not be refunded and these applicants must 
submit a new application, pay the associated fee, and apply overseas 
where they have a residence or are physically present if they wish to 
pursue a new visa. Participation in the pilot is voluntary. Individuals 
who do not wish to participate in this pilot may continue to apply 
overseas at a U.S. embassy or consulate where they have a residence or 
are physically present.
    The pilot aligns with the Administration's commitment to transform 
federal customer experience and service delivery to rebuild trust in 
government, as outlined in Executive Order 14058, signed on December 
13, 2021 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/12/13/executive-order-on-transforming-federal-customer-experience-and-service-delivery-to-rebuild-trust-in-government/). By 
designing and delivering services with a focus on innovative solutions 
and the user experience of American industry partners, the Department 
is looking to alleviate the uncertainty often experienced by U.S. 
companies that employ temporary workers requiring petition-based visas, 
as well as the uncertainty experienced by their impacted workers. This 
pilot will also

[[Page 88469]]

support implementation of the Chips and Science Act and Executive Order 
14110, issued on October 30, 2023, which outlines the administration's 
commitment to the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of 
artificial intelligence (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/01/2023-24283/safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence).

III. Procedures for Participation

a. Application Period

    The Department will begin accepting online applications January 29, 
2024 via https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/domestic-renewal.html. In order to control the number of 
applications received, the Department will, each week, release 
approximately 2,000 application slots for applicants whose most recent 
H-1B visas were issued by Mission Canada, and approximately 2,000 
application slots for those whose most recent H-1B visas were issued by 
Mission India (approximately 4,000 total each week) on the following 
dates:

 January 29
 February 5
 February 12
 February 19
 February 26

    Every application received will be counted against an approximate 
2,000 maximum weekly limit for each participating Mission. Once the 
limit is reached, the online portal will be locked until the next 
tranche of slots are released for each participating Mission group on 
the next application date. Applicants who are unable to apply on one 
application date may attempt to apply on any of the remaining 
application dates during the entry period. The application period for 
the pilot will close when all application slots are filled or on April 
1, 2024, whichever comes first.

b. Completing the Online Application for the Pilot

    To complete an application, applicants must navigate to the 
dedicated domestic visa renewal website available at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/domestic-renewal.html. On this site, applicants will be directed to select the 
host-country post of their most recent H-1B visa issuance (either 
Canada or India). From there, applicants will be taken through a 
navigator tool, which will assist applicants in assessing their 
qualifications for participation in the pilot, as discussed in Section 
II, 1-12 above. Applicant responses to questions in the navigator tool 
will not be retained by the Department. After completing the self-
assessment, qualified applicants must electronically complete and 
submit Form DS-160. Qualified applicants will also receive instructions 
through the portal on how to pay the required, non-refundable, non-
transferrable Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) application processing fee 
and where to mail their passports and other required documents for 
processing. The navigator is not capable of screening out all 
unqualified applicants. Consequently, it is possible the application 
subsequently will be returned unadjudicated for failure to satisfy the 
requirements for pilot participation or adjudicated and refused based 
on failure to qualify for an interview waiver. The MRV application 
processing fee payment will not be refunded in either case.

c. Application Processing

    Applications will be considered in the order received. The 
Department will not provide non-automated status reports on individual 
applications, other than the return of the application, issuance of the 
visa, or refusal, nor will it expedite applications. Applicants may 
check the status of their application at: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?App=NIV.
    The application processing is as follows:
    After online submission of the DS-160 and payment of the non-
refundable, non-transferrable MRV fee, applicants will receive 
instructions through the portal to send their passports and other 
required documents (as specified in section d. Required Documents of 
this notice) via the U.S. Postal Service or commercial courier service 
to the Department (see section f, below). Applications will then be 
sorted to determine whether they fall within the scope of the pilot. 
Applications and passports that do not pass this initial sorting 
process will be returned to applicants unadjudicated, as described 
below, but the fee will be retained to cover processing costs. 
Applications that satisfy the initial sorting requirements are 
forwarded to a location where authorized Department employees will 
adjudicate those applications.
    The average processing time for a domestic visa renewal application 
is expected to be six to eight weeks from the time that the passport 
and other required documents are received by the Department. The 
Department aims to complete processing of all applications no later 
than May 1, 2024. The Department will not consider requests for 
expedited processing. If an applicant anticipates urgent travel, the 
applicant may wish to apply for visa renewal overseas where they have a 
residence or are physically present. If an applicant applies for 
domestic visa renewal and learns that they must travel urgently, the 
applicant may withdraw their application and request through the online 
portal that their passport be returned to them. If the applicant 
withdraws their application during the adjudication process, it will be 
refused under INA 221(g) and the MRV fee will not be refunded. The INA 
221(g) refusal will not prejudice any future application. With this 
notice and other Department publications, visa applicants are made 
aware of the limited scope of this pilot program and the requirements 
for participation, as detailed in Section II, 1-12 above.
    Domestic issuance of a visa through the pilot program is not 
guaranteed. If the application is adjudicated but does not satisfy the 
requirements for domestic visa renewal under this pilot program for any 
reason, including a determination that the applicant requires an 
interview, resulting in a refusal under INA 221(g), the applicant may 
reapply by filing a new visa application at a U.S. consulate or embassy 
abroad where they have a residence or are physically present, and pay a 
new MRV fee.

d. Required Documents

    Each applicant for a domestic H-1B visa renewal must submit the 
following documentation:
     A properly completed \2\ and electronically filed DS-160, 
Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application.
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    \2\ A properly completed application is one that is completed in 
accordance with the instructions provided on the DS-160.
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     One photograph (taken within the last six months), which 
meets the specifications at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/photos.html.
     A passport valid for travel to the United States, which is 
valid for at least six months beyond the visa application date, and 
contains a blank, unmarked page for placement of a visa foil.
     The original or a copy of the applicant's current Form I-
797, Notice of Action.
     The original or a copy of the applicant's Form I-94, 
Arrival-Departure Record (available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home or on the Form I-797).

[[Page 88470]]

e. Fee Payment

    After completing their DS-160, applicants must pay the required 
$205.00 non-refundable and non-transferable MRV fee via the online 
portal. Fee payment may only be made using a major debit or credit 
card. Payment confirmation will be provided at that time.

f. Where To Send Passport and Other Required Documents

    After completing the DS-160 and paying the MRV fee, applicants will 
be provided information via the portal on where and how to send their 
passports and required documentation.

g. Visa and Documentation Return

    Issued visas, passports, and other documents submitted by the 
applicant will be returned via U.S. Postal Service or a commercial 
courier. It is important to note that issuance of a visa in the United 
States is NOT a grant of nonimmigrant status, does not constitute an 
extension of current nonimmigrant status, and does not constitute an 
admission to the United States. The visa only permits the applicant to 
seek entry at a U.S. port of entry after overseas travel and is not a 
guarantee of admission. Any foreign nationals seeking to extend or 
maintain their status while in the United States should contact U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) per usual practice.

h. Out-of-Scope Case Returns

    The Department will return the following out-of-scope cases without 
an adjudication and without a refund of the MRV fee:
     Any application that seeks to renew a visa other than an 
H-1B visa.
     Any application where the prior H-1B visa was not issued 
by Mission Canada with an issuance date of January 1, 2020, through 
April 1, 2023; or by Mission India with an issuance date of February 1, 
2021, through September 30, 2021.
     Any application which is subject to a nonimmigrant visa 
issuance fee (reciprocity fee). An applicant may research reciprocity 
fees by country and visa class here: U.S. Visa: Reciprocity and Civil 
Documents by Country (state.gov).
     Any application where the prior visa includes a 
``clearance received'' annotation.

i. Visa Refusals

    Visa applications will be refused under section 221(g) of the INA 
if the application is accepted for domestic adjudication, but the 
applicant is subsequently found to be ineligible for a waiver of the 
in-person interview requirement under section 222(h) of the INA, or 
otherwise fails to satisfy the requirements for domestic renewal set 
out above in Section II, 9-12. In such cases, any applicant seeking to 
pursue a visa application will have to do so by filing a new DS-160 
with a new MRV fee payment at an embassy or consulate overseas. The 
Department will not transfer applications to an overseas embassy or 
consulate or refund the MRV fee for applications returned or refused 
under the pilot program.
    The Department also will refuse an application under section 221(g) 
of the INA if the applicant fails to provide required documentation or 
information but is expected to overcome the refusal before the end of 
the pilot. In such instances, the Department will provide specific 
instructions to the applicant with an opportunity to provide any 
outstanding documents or information, or correct any minor errors in 
the application, by April 15, 2024, before completing adjudication. 
Applicants who are instructed to provide such documentation or 
information, or those who are instructed to correct minor errors in 
their application, will not be required to pay an additional MRV fee. 
If the applicant provides the requested information by April 15, 2024, 
and the Department can issue the visa through the pilot program, the 
Department will overcome the 221(g) refusal and issue the visa. As the 
pilot concludes on May 1, 2024, any refusal due to missing documents or 
information will not be able to be overcome after that time. Some 
examples of additional information or documents that may be required 
include:
     Properly completed Form DS-160,
     Photograph meeting Department standards, and
     Evidence the applicant is resident in the United States.

Julie M. Stufft,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services, Bureau of Consular 
Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2023-28160 Filed 12-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P