5 ms·

H1-B and L1 can actually be done in-country, but for some reading going abroad and get consular processing has a lower chance of RFE.

spiralpolitik 21d ago
Based on my experience 20 years ago you could only renew the H-1B visa in the passport in-country under extraordinary circumstances. In the majority of cases they reject your request and would tell you to travel to a consulate. Prior to the mid 00s you could renew at any consulate but they changed it so you could only renew in your home country.
- zem 21d ago
  the "only in your home country" change happened very recently, late 2025 or early 2026
  - mportela 20d ago
    Not really… Theoretically, you could get it issued in a third country under very restrict conditions (renewing to the same class, in Mexico or Canada, force majeure, etc). However, the likelihood of it being denied was considerably higher, so basically all immigration lawyers strongly recommended going back to the home country. The recent policy change ended that possibility altogether.
    - zem 20d ago
      at least for Indians, going to Mexico/Canada and renewing to the same class were both very large use cases. consulate appointments in the home country are super backed up.
      - mportela 19d ago
        Oh, yeah, that makes sense!
    - spiralpolitik 20d ago
      This matched my experience. 2002 I renewed in Canada with no issue. 4 years later I had to go back to my home country as I was told by my immigration lawyer that unless I had a connection to Canada, they would redirect me to my home country.
HeavenFox 21d ago
You are talking about change (or extension) of status, not visa. US is unique in that the visa sticker and your right to remain in the country (status) are two different things. The only purpose of the visa sticker is to allow you to travel to a U.S. port of entry, where you apply for admission, and therefore legal status. You can have legal status in the U.S. while the visa sticker has expired, and your status can be changed or extended domestically. However unless you have a valid sticker you cannot leave and return.
- maxgashkov 21d ago
  It's not unique: Japanese system is exactly as you described.
  - a_bonobo 21d ago
    Australia too - however, to get a renewal all you need is an online connection and a credit card, the renewal (at least for me!) goes through automatically. (Notwithstanding that Australia just increased the PR-renewal cost from ~400-500 to ~1400-1500 AUD)
    - deleted 21d ago
      [deleted]
    - HeavenFox 16d ago
      Based on my understanding of Australian PR, what you are renewing is not your visa but the travel facility. For non-PR, I don't think Australia distinguishes visa and status like US (i.e. you can't have valid status while your visa expired)
  - HeavenFox 16d ago
    Is it? If I understand it correctly, in Japan, if you have a valid residence card, you can use that to enter the country. That is not true for the US (if you consider I-94 the US equivalent of residence card)
gpt5 21d ago
The pause on visa appointments does not apply to H1-B and L1 as they are nonimmigrant visas. It applies to family based immigration visa, diversity visa, and EB-1/2/3 when you do processing abroad. (You might have known that, but I thought it's worth clarifying).
deleted 21d ago
[deleted]

spiralpolitik 21d ago

Based on my experience 20 years ago you could only renew the H-1B visa in the passport in-country under extraordinary circumstances. In the majority of cases they reject your request and would tell you to travel to a consulate. Prior to the mid 00s you could renew at any consulate but they changed it so you could only renew in your home country.

zem 21d ago
the "only in your home country" change happened very recently, late 2025 or early 2026
- mportela 20d ago
  Not really… Theoretically, you could get it issued in a third country under very restrict conditions (renewing to the same class, in Mexico or Canada, force majeure, etc). However, the likelihood of it being denied was considerably higher, so basically all immigration lawyers strongly recommended going back to the home country. The recent policy change ended that possibility altogether.
  - zem 20d ago
    at least for Indians, going to Mexico/Canada and renewing to the same class were both very large use cases. consulate appointments in the home country are super backed up.
    - mportela 19d ago
      Oh, yeah, that makes sense!
  - spiralpolitik 20d ago
    This matched my experience. 2002 I renewed in Canada with no issue. 4 years later I had to go back to my home country as I was told by my immigration lawyer that unless I had a connection to Canada, they would redirect me to my home country.

HeavenFox 21d ago

You are talking about change (or extension) of status, not visa. US is unique in that the visa sticker and your right to remain in the country (status) are two different things. The only purpose of the visa sticker is to allow you to travel to a U.S. port of entry, where you apply for admission, and therefore legal status. You can have legal status in the U.S. while the visa sticker has expired, and your status can be changed or extended domestically. However unless you have a valid sticker you cannot leave and return.

maxgashkov 21d ago
It's not unique: Japanese system is exactly as you described.
- a_bonobo 21d ago
  Australia too - however, to get a renewal all you need is an online connection and a credit card, the renewal (at least for me!) goes through automatically. (Notwithstanding that Australia just increased the PR-renewal cost from ~400-500 to ~1400-1500 AUD)
  - deleted 21d ago
    [deleted]
  - HeavenFox 16d ago
    Based on my understanding of Australian PR, what you are renewing is not your visa but the travel facility. For non-PR, I don't think Australia distinguishes visa and status like US (i.e. you can't have valid status while your visa expired)
- HeavenFox 16d ago
  Is it? If I understand it correctly, in Japan, if you have a valid residence card, you can use that to enter the country. That is not true for the US (if you consider I-94 the US equivalent of residence card)

gpt5 21d ago

The pause on visa appointments does not apply to H1-B and L1 as they are nonimmigrant visas. It applies to family based immigration visa, diversity visa, and EB-1/2/3 when you do processing abroad. (You might have known that, but I thought it's worth clarifying).

deleted 21d ago

[deleted]