Revalidating (or Renewing) Visas in the United States

• Eligibility for Visa Revalidation
• Visas That Can Not Be Renewed in the U.S.
• Application Requirements
• Fee Payment
• Where to Send Visa Revalidation Applications
• Processing Time
• Visa And Documentation Return
• Visa Revalidation and Change of Employers
• Visa Revalidation Is Not Guaranteed 
• Denial of Visa Revalidation Applications

Your visa represents permission to apply to enter the United States. Most foreign nationals require a valid visa to be admitted to the United States.  If you have a visa that has expired or will expire, and you wish to travel internationally, you may apply to revalidate or renew your visa while remaining in the United States.  You may also choose to apply for a new visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad that processes nonimmigrant visa applications.

Eligibility for Visa Revalidation

If you hold a visa in the E, H, I, L, O, and P visa category, you may apply for visa revalidation in the same visa category without leaving the country.  This process is called revalidation, reissuance or renewal of your visa.  The revalidation application is sent to the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Office.

To be eligible for visa revalidation, your visa must have less than 60 days of validity, or be expired for less than one year.  If you send your visa for revalidation with more than 60 days of validity, or if it has been expired for more than one year, your visa will be returned without revalidation.  You must also have the same nationality as when your previous visa was issued.

Visas That Can Not Be Renewed in the U.S.

You are ineligible for visa revalidation if you are a national of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan, the seven countries currently designated as state sponsors of terrorism. Applicants from these countries must apply for new visas at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

The following visa categories can not be revalidated while in the United States:

• B1/B2 (business/tourism);
• C (transit);
• D (air or sea crew member);
• F (student);
• J (exchange visitor);
• K (fiancé/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)

Application Requirements

You must submit all required documents with your visa revalidation application. Your application must include the following to be accepted for revalidation:

• Proper nonimmigrant visa application fee (currently $100 per applicant).  See below for information on fee payment;

• Visa issuance reciprocity fee, if applicable. Please consult the Visa Reciprocity Tables to determine if you must pay a visa issuance reciprocity fee. 
  
  Nationals of India, please note:
  As of October 11, 2003, there is a reciprocal visa issuance fee in the H, L, O, and P categories of $50 per applicant. Reciprocity fees are in addition to the $100 visa application processing fee that each applicant must pay.
  
  Nationals of the United Kingdom, please note:
  There is a reciprocal visa issuance fee in the E-2 and L-2 categories of $105 per applicant. Reciprocity fees are in addition to the $100 visa application processing fee that each applicant must pay.

• Form DS-156 Nonimmigrant Visa Application for each applicant, with each question completed in English and signed (a parent should sign for children under age 14);

• One photograph that meets the nonimmigrant visa photo requirements, stapled or glued to the DS-156 in the designated space;

• Form DS-157 Supplementary Nonimmigrant Visa Application for all male applicants between the ages of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality, with each question completed in English and signed.

• Your passport, with a visa in the same category as you are requesting, that is valid at least six months beyond the visa application date (including Visa Office processing time). If more than one person is included in the passport, each person applying for a visa must submit a visa application. The passport must include your most recent E, H, I, L, O, or P visa.  The passport must contain a blank, unmarked visa page for each U.S. visa to be placed in the passport, as each Machine Readable Visa (MRV) covers a full passport page;

• The original or a certified copy of Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record annotated by the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (formerly INS) immigration inspector from your most recent admission to the U.S. Please staple the I-94 to a page in your current passport.

• A prepaid courier service airbill and envelope or a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of the passport and other documents. Write your address as the “from” address on the airbill or the self-addressed envelope.  On the airbill, write your courier company account number or provide a valid credit card number.

• Applicants for E, H, I, L, O, or P visas must include additional documentation as noted in the links at the end of this instruction.  The State Department’s website describes these additional requirements for Revalidating an H, L, O or P visa, Revalidating an E visa, and Revalidating an I visa.

If the spouse or children of the principal alien are applying separately from the principal alien, each must submit all required documentation, as well as certified copies of the principal alien’s current visa and I-94.

Fee Payment

Payment of visa revalidation fees may be made by bank draft, corporate check, or money order, payable to the U.S. Department of State. The Visa Office does not accept payment by cash, credit card, or personal check.  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. Payment must be drawn on a U.S. bank and must be in U.S. currency.

Where to Send Visa Revalidation Applications

Send your visa revalidation application to one of the addresses below. The first address is for the U.S. Postal Service and the second is for all courier services.

Postal Service:

US Department of State/Visa
P. O. Box 952099
St. Louis, MO 63195-2099
Fax: 202-663-1608

Courier Service:

US Department of State/Visa (Box 2099)
1005 Convention Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101-1200
Fax: 202-663-1608

For “I” visa applicants only, send your visa revalidation application to:

U.S. Postal Service

Department of State
Post Office Box 72099
St. Louis, MO 63195-2099

All Courier Services

Department of State
Box 72099
1005 Convention Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101

Processing Time

Processing of a visa revalidation application currently takes between 2 and 4 months from the date you submit your application.

The Visa Office will not expedite visa re-issuance of a visa.  If you anticipate an urgent need to travel, you should apply for your visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.  If you submitted an application for visa revalidation and learn that you must travel urgently, you may withdraw your visa revalidation application. 

Visa And Documentation Return

Your passport with the newly issued visa and other documents (I-94s, employment letters, I-797s, etc.) will be returned to you via your self-addressed, stamped envelope or prepaid courier airbill and courier envelope. Make a note of your airbill or other tracking number if you want to contact the courier for status information.

Visa Revalidation and Change of Employers

If you have a valid visa in the appropriate category but have changed your employer since the issuance of your visa, you do not need to get a new visa just to reflect the name of your current employer.  You may reenter the United States by showing your visa (even though it shows your previous employer) and the valid I-797 Notice of Approval from your new employer. The State Department’s Visa Office will not revalidate a visa to reflect a change of employer unless the visa will expire in sixty days or less.

Visa Revalidation Is Not Guaranteed

If your application does not meet all of the Visa Office’s criteria for revalidation, or if there is any other reason why your application is not clearly approvable for revalidation, your visa revalidation application may be denied.  You would then have to apply for a new visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

Denial of Visa Revalidation Applications

You must include all required documents at the time of submission, or your visa revalidation application will be denied.  The Visa Office may also deny any visa revalidation application if the application is not clearly approvable, based on the judgment of the State Department official.  If the Visa Office determines that an application is not clearly approvable, you will be required to apply for a visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

If the Visa Office cannot revalidate your visa, your passport and other documentation will be returned to you using your airbill/courier envelope or self-addressed stamped envelope.  You will receive a form stating the reason for denial, or what documents are required to continue your application.  Follow the instructions carefully, and resubmit your application to the address on the form.  If your application is refused, you must submit a new DS-156 and photo and the DS-157 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.