News: Discontinuation of Domestic Visa Revalidation Services, Jun 23 2004

The Revalidation Division is discontinuing the domestic visa revalidation (or re issuance) service. The Division will therefore CLOSE TO NEW APPLICATIONS ON JULY 16, 2004. ALL APPLICATIONS FOR VISA REVALIDATIONS IN THE E, H, I, L, O, OR P CATEGORIES MUST BE RECEIVED IN THE ST. LOUIS PROCESSING OFFICE ON OR BEFORE JULY 16, 2004.

Applications and supporting documentation received after July 16 will be returned.

Applications for revalidation following a 221(g) refusal and requests for corrections must be submitted to the Revalidation Division in Washington no later than September 30, 2004.

New applications will continue to be processed in the order in which they are received. All information on the revalidation process remains valid.

After many years of service, the Revalidation Division must discontinue its domestic revalidation service for E, H, I, L, O, and P visas. Section 303 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act requires the State Department to collect a biometric identifier (fingerprint) from all non-diplomatic visa applicants. It is not feasible for the Department of State to collect the biometric identifiers.

All applicants are encouraged to apply for new visas in their home countries. Applicants not traveling to their home countries may apply at a U.S. visa processing post in Canada or Mexico provided they have made an interview appointment. Applicants may also apply at a U.S. visa processing post in a third country provided they have made an interview appointment. All applicants should understand that if there is a delay in visa issuance, they may need to spend more time overseas then they originally planned. A business associate, friend, or relative may need to make the visa interview appointment for you. Visa processing posts would be giving priority to applicants who would have benefited from domestic visa revalidation service.

---

The non-immigrant visa can be re-validated in US without having to go to the US embassy/consulate outside US by sending your passport and other documents by mail. Only visas of type E, H, I, L, O, and P can be revalidated in US. Revalidation is also called renewal or re issuance. Applicants may also apply for a new visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad that processes nonimmigrant visa applications. It can be re-validated in US only if you had never been out-of-status in US. Please note that visa is for travel only. So if you are on H1 and change jobs, you can start working for another company as soon as you get the H1B filing notice. You don't have to have the H1B visa stamp in your passport in the new company's name. You can stay in US as long as your new I-94 is valid(which comes at the time of H1B extension or H1B transfer.) Only if you are planning to travel outside US and if your visa stamp has expired, you need new visa stamp in your passport. Please note that you do not need to revalidate your un expired visa stamp just because you changed your job. You can still travel back into US with your new H1 approval and old but un expired visa stamp. The Visa Office will not revalidate a visa to reflect a change of employer unless the visa will expire in sixty days or less.

Say if you change from F1(Student Visa) to H1 visa as you get the job, you can't send passport to get an H1 stamp in your passport. You need to have the visa stamp in the same category as the the category under which you are applying.

If your application does not meet all of the Visa Office's established revalidation criteria, or if there is any other reason why your application is not clearly approvable for revalidation by the Visa Office, you must make a new visa application at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

• A passport valid for at least (6) months from the date of issue of visa. The passport (or accompanying previous passport) must contain a previous visa bearing the same classification as that which is now being sought. A visa may be revalidated if it has a remaining validity of not more than sixty (60) days, or has not been expired for more than one year. Each applicant will receive an individual visa, and each Machine Readable Visa (MRV) covers a full page. Therefore, passports must contain a blank, unmarked visa page for each U.S. visa to be placed in the passport. If more than one person is included in the passport, each person applying for a visa must submit a visa application. Remove extraneous pieces of paper (slips of paper with phone numbers, old airline boarding passes, etc.) from the passport. You may submit a passport in a protective cover.
• The original or a certified copy of Form I-94 issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when s/he last entered the United States. The original I-94 should remain firmly stapled in your passport at all times. If the Form I-94 has expired, you should submit a valid Form I-797 Notice of Approval from the USCIS for each visa applicant.
• A valid Employment Petition (Form I-797) issued by the USCIS must be submitted. The form will indicate the applicant's current employer and the approved extension of temporary stay.
• H and L application must submit a comprehensive letter from the principal alien's employer identifying the applicant and describing in detail the nature and function of the position, the kind of business and what it does, and justifying the need for the visa. The letter submitted must be on the letterhead of the current employer, with an original signature from the company representative and must be addressed to the Visa Office, Department of State.
  Sample Employer Letter for revalidation
  
  O-2 and P applicants must submit a statement indicating that they have a residence abroad which they have no intention of abandoning.
  
  E-1 Treaty Traders - In addition to the other listed requirements, applicants must submit a comprehensive letter from the principal alien's company or employer identifying the applicant and describing in detail the nature and function of the business and the applicant's position. The letter must be on the current business/employer's letterhead, with an original signature from an authorized company representative, and must be addressed to the Visa Office, Department of State. The letter should demonstrate the applicant's entitlement to E-1 status based on the continued trade between the U.S. and the country of the applicant's nationality. The letter must contain a statement of unequivocal intent that the applicant will depart the U.S. when E-1 status ends. If the visa applicant is the sole company employee in the U.S., submit the latest copy of the company's FICA and IRS forms with the applicant's letter of explanation. Please include the company's fax number.
  
  E-2 Treaty Investors - In addition to the other listed requirements, applicants must submit a copy of the company's most recent financial statement. E-2 Treaty Investors must also submit a comprehensive letter from the principal alien's company or employer identifying the applicant and describing in detail the nature and function of the investment and the extent of the principal alien's participation in the investment. The letter must be on the current company/employer's letterhead, with an original signature from an authorized company representative, and must be addressed to the Visa Office, Department of State. The letter should contain a statement of unequivocal intent that the applicant will depart the U.S. when E-2 status ends.
  
  I visa - A comprehensive letter from the journalist's employer on the employer's letterhead identifying the journalist and describing in detail the nature and function of the journalist's position. The letter must be addressed to the Visa Office, Department of State. If the employer is abroad and the journalist is the only U.S. representative, the letter must be signed by the employer and give the journalist's U.S. office address and telephone number.
• DS-156 (Non-Immigrant Visa Application Form) with one passport-size photograph, with white or light background, for each applicant, regardless of age. The photographs must be attached to the respective forms in the designated place. Please spell out the month of birth (i.e., write "January 2," NOT 1/2 or 2/1) Incomplete or improperly filled out applications are returned without visas. Applicant must have original signature in the form. Parent must sign for child under 14 years.
  Fillable(Type in) DS-156 form in English.
  
  For visa revalidation, you must use bar coded DS-156. Old non-bar coded forms are not acceptable. Once you open that form, you can fill it online, and then a PDF document will be generated that includes the bar code. You must print that form and submit.
• One photograph stapled or glued to the DS-156 in the designated space, which meets the nonimmigrant photograph requirements. Do not submit a photograph in a glassine or other type of envelope. Staple or glue one photograph to the DS-156 in designated space.
• All male nonimmigrant visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality and regardless of where they apply, they should also fill out DS-157 along with DS-156. Applicants whose native language is not written in the English alphabet should print their names in their native language in item 3 of the DS-157
• If the spouse and/or dependent children are applying for visas separately from the principal alien, certified copies of the principal alien's visa and valid I-94 (front and back) must be submitted in addition to all other requirements.
• $100 non-refundable visa processing fee is required for each applicant.(Except the citizens of Canada and Mexico.) Payment may be made by bank draft, cashier's check, money order, or corporate check or checks issued by your attorney's law firm made payable to the "U.S. Department of State." Cash or personal checks are not acceptable. In addition, certain nationalities must also pay a "reciprocity fee." The amount of these fees vary from country to country. Payment for the visa application processing fee and the visa issuance reciprocity fee, if applicable, may be combined in one bank draft, corporate check, or money order. A family may submit one bank draft, corporate check, or money order for all visa application processing fees and visa issuance reciprocity fees.
  
  The application fee is non refundable regardless of whether the visa is issued or not. The reciprocity fee, if any, would be returned if the visa can not be issued.
  
  Separate fees are required for each individual, even if there are multiple persons are included in a single passport (like children in mother's passport.)
  
  Reciprocity fee for India:
  $50 for any amount of stay on H/L visa.
  
  Reciprocity fee for China:
  For H-1, H-4: $10 one entry, $20 two entries valid up to three months only.
  For L-1, L-2: $120 for multiple entries up to 24 months; $10 one entry; $20 two entries.
  
  Reciprocity fee for United Kingdom:
  There is a reciprocal visa issuance fee in the E-2 and L-2 categories of $105 per applicant.
• Cover letter by the primary applicant addressed to department of state requesting the re-issuance of visa.
  Sample Cover letter

You must include a prepaid courier service air bill and envelope or a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of the passport and other documents. The Visa Office does not endorse the use of any particular commercial courier service. If using the U.S. Postal Service, the Postal Service recommends a padded envelope for passport return. A family should submit one courier air bill/envelope or one self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of their documents. Please use your address as the "from" address on the air bill or the self-addressed envelope. Please ensure that you have written your courier company account number or that you have given the courier company a valid credit card number on the air bill.

Application packages must be mailed to:

Postal Service
US Department of State/Visa
P. O. Box 952099
St. Louis, MO 63195-2099
Fax: 202-663-1608(Fax number is still old number in DC)

Courier Service
US Department of State/Visa (Box 2099)
1005 Convention Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101-1200
Fax: 202-663-1608(Fax number is still old number in DC)


Applications for only one family can be sent in one package. Processing time depends on seasonal demand. It is best to allow between eight to ten weeks from the date of receipt. In all fairness, the state department office adheres to a strict first-come, first-served policy. If there are time constraints surrounding your application, please do not submit it. Instead, they advise you to apply for the visa at an overseas U.S. diplomatic or consular office.

If you need additional information, please state department can be reached at (202) 663-1213. Timings are Monday to Friday (except holidays) between 2.00pm-4.00 pm(Eastern Time). A recording provides general information at all other times.
You may also reach them by fax at (202) 663-1608.

Each year the Visa Office receives approximately 65,000 applications for visa revalidations. Their goal is to process these applications as quickly as possible. Because of the volume, Visa Office does not provide status reports on visa revalidation applications or expedite applications. To make the revalidation process more transparent, following provide the following general information on how revalidation applications are processed.

Visa applicants, attorneys, and employers send visa revalidation applications to the Visa Office's lockbox/processing center in St. Louis via the U.S. Postal Service or commercial courier services. The lockbox/processing center collects visa-related fees and data-enters the application information. After fee and data collection, the lockbox forwards the applications to the Visa Office in Washington. E, H, L, O, and P applications are processed together; one type of application does not receive priority over the other types of applications. The Visa Office receives the applications and loads the application data into its computer system. The date the Visa Office in Washington loads the application data into the Visa Office computer system in Washington is the date the Visa Office considers the application was received.

You should assume that it takes approximately 10 working days for the Visa Office in Washington to receive an application from the lockbox/processing center and for the Visa Office in Washington to load the application data into its computer system.

The lockbox operation returns applications that do not conform to the Visa Office's requirements:

• No nonimmigrant visa application fee ($100 per applicant), incorrect nonimmigrant visa application fee, or fee payment that conflicts with the type and number of visas being applied for;
• A check drawn on a foreign bank or not payable to the Department of State;
• No Nonimmigrant Visa Application form DS-156 /or Supplementary Nonimmigrant Visa Application form DS-157; or use of any version of the DS-156 other than the February 2003 version;
• No passport;
• An application made by a national of one of the seven countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan).

ALL communication on visa revalidation applications is through the Visa Office in Washington. The lockbox/processing center does not communicate with the public at any time. The lockbox/processing center forwards any communications it receives on visa revalidation issues to the Visa Office in Washington for reply.

The Visa Office will refuse an application that does not conform to their requirements.

Issued visas and other documents (I-94s, employment letters, I-797s, etc.) are returned to you via your self-addressed, stamped envelope or prepaid courier air bill and courier envelope. On the courier air bill, please ensure that you have written your courier company account number or a valid credit card number. Ensure that you make a note of your air bill or other tracking number. You will need this information if you want to contact the courier for status information. The Visa Office is unable to provide this information to you if you misplace it.

The U.S. Postal Service and the major courier service companies pick up envelopes and packages from the Visa Office's office building daily. The Visa Office cannot guarantee that the U.S. Postal Service or any courier service company will pick up envelopes on any given day, or when the envelopes will be dispatched by the courier service company or the U.S. Postal Service. The Visa Office does not track outgoing envelopes or packages.

The Visa Office will refuse your revalidation application under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and return your documentation to you if your application lacks any, some, or all of the following:

• A properly completed Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form DS-156
• A Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form DS-157, for all male applicants aged 16 to 45, regardless of nationality;
• Visa photograph that does not meet our nonimmigrant visa photo requirements;
• Reciprocity fee payment, if required;
• A passport bearing the most recent visa in the same classification as the visa being applied for;
• A passport that will expire in less than six months;
• An application sent more than 60 days before expiration of the current visa or more than one year after the expiration of the previous visa;
• An employment letter that it is not comprehensive and does not describe the applicant's duties in detail;
• I-797 or I-94.

The Visa Office may refuse any visa revalidation application if, in the Visa Office's judgment, the application is not clearly approvable by the Visa Office. Because the Visa Office revalidates visas issued by a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, the Visa Office does not interview visa applicants. If the Visa Office determines that an application is not clearly approvable in the Visa Office, per U.S. visa regulations, the applicant will require an interview with a consular officer at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

If the Visa Office cannot revalidate your visa due to a lack of documentation (incomplete DS-156, no DS-157, no I-94 or I-797, employment letter that is not comprehensive, etc.), your passport and other documentation will be returned to you using your air bill/courier envelope or self-addressed stamped envelope. The Visa Office does not retain passports, I-94s, or other documentation in a visa revalidation application pending receipt of properly completed application forms, correct fees, etc. You will receive a form stating what documents are required to continue your application. Please follow the instructions carefully when resubmitting your application. Return the Visa Office form with your resubmission to the address on the form. Do not enclose your passport and other documents in an inner envelope within your mailing envelope. Ensure that your visa photograph is properly glued or stapled to the DS-156.

The DS-156 and photo and the DS-157 (if applicable) are not returned with your documentation. Therefore, you must include a new completed and signed DS-156 with photograph and DS-157 (if applicable) when you resubmit the complete application packet.

If the Visa Office informs you that your application for visa revalidation cannot be processed in the Visa Office, you must make a new visa application at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. You will be required to pay a new nonimmigrant application processing fee.

If you paid a visa issuance reciprocity fee but the Visa Office cannot revalidate your visa, the reciprocity fee will be refunded by the U.S. Treasury Department. The $100 nonimmigrant visa application fee is not refundable.

The Visa Office does not revalidate visas for nationals of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria, the seven countries currently designated as state sponsors of terrorism. These applicants must apply for new visas at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

Following visa categories are NOT revalidated in the Visa Office:

• B1/B2 (business/tourism);
• C (transit);
• D (air or sea crew member);
• F (student);
• J (exchange visitor);
• K (fiancè/e of a U.S. citizen)
• M (vocational student);
• N (parent of alien classified SK-3 Special Immigrant)
• Q (international cultural exchange);
• R (religious worker);
• S (supplier of information relating to a criminal organization);
• T (victim of severe form of trafficking in persons)
• TN (NAFTA professional)
• U (victim of criminal activity)
• V (spouse/child of Legal Permanent Resident Alien)

The Visa Office adheres to a strict first-received, first processed policy for all visa revalidation applications. The Visa Office is unable to expedite visa re-issuance. If you submit an application for revalidation and later discover you need your passport while it is in process, you may withdraw your application and request the passport be returned without a visa. Send the request for withdrawal of the case via fax at 202-663-1608. The fax must include:

• applicant's name (as it is written in the passport),
• applicant's date and place of birth,
• applicant's nationality,
• visa type (e.g., E, H, I, L, O, P),
• method sent (e.g., Fed ex, Express Mail, DHL, World Courier, UPS, Priority Mail, etc.),
• date the package was received at the Department,
• name and return address on envelope, and a
• telephone and/or fax number to contact if there are difficulties finding the application.

The application and passport are sent out the next business day. However, failure to provide complete information may delay the return of the application and passport.

If your E, H, I, L, O, or P visa was revalidated in the Visa Office in US but contains incorrect information, you can send it back to US state department for correction. Please note that the Visa Office does not correct visas issued at U.S. embassies or consulates abroad.

Please send following documents:

• the passport with the revalidated visa, AND
• a letter explaining what needs to be corrected, AND
• documents substantiating the correct information, AND
• one completed Nonimmigrant Visa Application form, DS-156, with a current photograph, AND
• one completed Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application form DS-157 for a male applicant between 16 and 45 years old, regardless of nationality.

Send the documents to:

CA/VO/P/D - Visa Office
U.S. Department of State
2401 E Street, NW (SA-1, L-703)
Washington, DC 20522-0106

Important: Please write "CORRECTION" on the front of the envelope to ensure expeditious service.
Please note that there is no fee for this service.

You may send your documents through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial courier service. In either case, you must enclose a pre-paid courier air bill and envelope or a self addressed stamped envelope for the return of your passport. The U.S. Postal Service recommends a padded envelope for passport safety. The Visa Office does not endorse the use of any particular commercial courier service.

Corrections receive priority service. You may expect a turnaround of approximately five working days. The Visa Office does not track outgoing envelopes or packages.