An Indian-American entrepreneur leading the charge in expanding the domestic visa renewal provision shared an exciting update on social media. Ajay Jain Bhutoria, who according to his official website “has over 25+ years of experience driving global change at every level: domestic politics, foreign relations, and global technology industry,” took to his X profile after May 15 midnight (IST) to share that the H-1B domestic visa renewal argument has caught official momentum.

Congressmen in favour of domestic visa renewal: 3 Indian-origin reps included

As an ‘advocate for the South Asian and greater AAPI community,’ he wrote online, “I’m thrilled to see bipartisan support for domestic visa renewal! The pilot program, launched based on my recommendation to the WHIAANHPI Commission & implemented by the State Dept, is a step forward.” Sharing the official US Congress document addressed to the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he tweeted further, “@SecRubio, domestic visa renewal is the right move. Happy to share details!.”

The two-page letter concludes with notable signatures from several Congressmen. Fellow Indian-origin US Reps Suhas Subramanyam, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ro Khanna’s approval was joined by Members of Congress Rich McCormick, Henry C ‘Hank’ Johnson Jr, Don Bacon and Sanford D Bishop Jr.

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H-1B domestic visa renewal: Follow-up to successful 2024 pilot program

These steps taken to consolidate domestic visa renewal in the US follow a successful pilot program conducted in 2024. In early 2025, reports of the US government pursuing the permanency of this program came to light.

“The Department of State completed a successful pilot program to renew H-1B visas in the United States this year. This allowed many specialty occupation workers from India to renew their visas without leaving the United States. This pilot program streamlined the renewal process for thousands of applicants, and the Department of State is working to formally establish a U.S.-based renewal program in 2025,” the US Embassy in India said in a statement at the time.

Why is there a need for domestic H-1B visa renewal?

Original plan of action dictated that Indians return to their country of origin to renew H-1B, the nonimmigrant visa. However, the January 29, 2024, pilot program allowed limited H-1B visa holders to renew their status within America. The streamlining measure eliminated the need to undertake international travel.

Ajay Jain Bhutoria’s recent update sheds light on bipartisan support to expedite the process of formalising the initiative this year with clear eligibility rules. Noting the 2024 pilot program’s success, the letter addressed to Marco Rubio urges the US government to “ensure that this program not only continues but is expanded to include additional E, H, I, L, O or P visas, to ease unnecessary burdens on workers and businesses alike.”

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He argued, “The current system, which requires most nonimmigrant visa holders to leave the country for renewals, disrupts lives, strains consular resources abroad, causes undue financial burdens on workers, and creates uncertainty for US companies relying on these talented individuals.” Bhutoria’s post also noted that in some cases visa holders have been forced to wait months to secure an appointment at an overseas embassy.

Acknowledging how the wait period worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to come down, he added, “As of early 2025, wait time for visa processing remain alarmingly high, student and temporary worker wait times surpassing more than 300 days in some cases.” The doc shared by the Indian-American man contended that the exacerbated delays were not only a major red flag working against economic growth, but also what caused “America’s ability to attract and retain top talent” to weaken.

Doubling down on domestic visa renewals with the US will help alleviate these notorious backlogs and increase efficiency. Moreover, it will offer more certainty for US employers, workers and students, the official letter highlighted. Pushing for a permanent fixture of domestic visa renewals in the US immigration system, the document noted it “will ensure timely additional vetting of individuals who are currently in the United States, much sooner than would occur if they had to wait until the next they needed to travel overseas.”