During a recent interview, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, announced that the U.S. Department of State will launch a pilot program later in 2023 offering visa stamping renewal options domestically for H and L visa beneficiaries and other temporary visa holders.¹ The State Department has not yet announced the mechanism or process to renew visa stamps under this pilot program.

Visa stamping is a crucial process that authorizes foreign nationals to travel to the United States for a specified period. According to Ms. Stufft, restoring stateside visa renewals will save foreign nationals from having to leave the country, and will reduce the workload of consular officers abroad.

Consular appointment backlogs have resulted from a combination of factors, including reduced staffing, social distancing requirements, and health and safety concerns. The backlog has affected various types of visas, including employment-based visas, tourist visas, and family-based visas. In many cases, the wait times for visa appointments increased from a few weeks to several months, depending on the consulate or embassy. The COVID-19 pandemic also had an enormous effect on foreign nationals attempting to renew their visas, especially those needing to travel abroad to renew their visa stamps. During the pandemic, U.S. consulates and embassies were fully or partially closed for anything other than emergency nonimmigrant visa appointments, forcing foreign nationals to remain abroad or to wait a long period of time for a consular appointment.

Note that a visa stamp does not determine or guarantee entry or length of authorized stay within the United States; entry and the length of authorized stay within the United States are determined by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer at the port-of-entry each time a foreign national enters the country