Tech professionals may soon be able to renew their H-1B visas while staying in the country.

The United States is preparing to restart "domestic visa revalidation" in some categories of the H-1B and L1 visas, a move that might be advantageous to tens of thousands of foreign computer employees. The experiment will begin this year as a pilot and be built up over the following several years.

Before 2004, several non-immigrant visa classifications, most notably the H-1B, allowed for in-country renewal or stamping. After then, H-1B visa holders would need to travel back to their home country.

All H-1B visa holders must have the renewal dates on their passports stamped every time their visa is extended. If they want to leave the country and come back, they must do this. Re-stamping of H-1B visas is not now permitted in the US. Any US embassy can do a restamp.

The highly desired H-1B visas are granted for periods of three years. A non-immigrant visa called the H-1B permits US businesses to hire foreign nationals for specialised jobs that need for theoretical or technical competence.

It is essential to the hiring of tens of thousands of workers each year from nations like China and India by technology businesses.