Immigration Law Advisory Bulletin
Department of State to End Visa Revalidations
in United States
The Department of State (DOS) has announced that it
will end its revalidation program in the United States for C, E,
H, I, L, O, and P visas on July 16, 2004. Any applications for revalidations
of these types of visas received after July 16, 2004 will be returned
to sender at the sender's expense. To be processed, applications
must be received by the DOS 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.
This announcement means that all future visa revalidations
will have to be done at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. Nonimmigrant
visa holders will no longer be able to obtain new visas while remaining
in the United States. DOS suggests that visa revalidations occur
in the alien's home country, although embassies and consulates in
Mexico and Canada have some limited capacity to handle third-country-national
visa applications.
DOS is 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 that U.S. visas issued after Oct. 26, 2004, include biometric
identifiers. It is not feasible for DOS to collect the biometric
identifiers in the United States.
Please note that DOS ceased processing applications
for reissuance of A-3, G-5 and NATO-7 visas in the United States
in September 2002. DOS will continue to receive applications for
reissuance of qualifying diplomatic and official visas in Washington,
DC.
If you have questions or would like
more information, please contact any member of DWT’s immigration
practice team, including:
This Immigration Law Advisory is a publication of the Employer Services
Department of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Our purpose in publishing
this Advisory is to inform our clients and friends of recent developments
inimmigration law. It is not intended, nor should it be used, as
a substitute for specific legal advice as legal counsel may only
be given in response to inquiries regarding particular situations.
Copyright © 2004, Davis Wright
Tremaine LLP.
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