From mimsy!cs.umd.edu!news.umbc.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!cs.utexas.edu!not-for-mail Sat Feb 19 15:55:04 EST 1994 A couple of weeks ago, I posted a query in this newsgroup about renewing my F-1 visa (i.e. getting a new stamp in my passport) from Washington DC. Thanks to all those who replied. The general opinion was that this is possible only for H-1 and L-1 visas, not for F-1 visa. Also, as I understand, you can only *renew* a visa from Washington D.C. (i.e. you need to have at least one stamp already in your passport). I also called the State Department (Visa section), and confirmed that F-1 visa cannot be renewed inside the U.S. -- it has to be done "abroad". For those of you who are interested in renewing their H-1 or L-1 visas, the procedure is roughly as follows: Send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the State dept, to receive an application. Other stuff required: 1. Passport 2. Application OF/156 (obtained as above) 3. Original I-94 4. Copy of H-1 approval notice from INS 5. Letter from employer 6. (Two?) Passport size photos 7. Self-addressed stamped envelopes to return your passport 8. Visa fee (if applicable) Apparently the procedure take a couple of weeks. Please note that I extracted this info from the replies I received. It would be best to confirm it with the proper authorities. The address and phone number for the State Department are: Department of State Visa Services Room 238A 2401 E Street NW Washington D.C 20522-0113 Phone: (202) 663-1225. Thanks to folks who replied to me personally: Shalabh Jain Beatrice Muller Raghuram Murtugudde Mallik Paranandi Avinash Patil K R Subramanian Also, thanks to everybody who posted their responses directly to the newsgroup. I appreciate all the help. Sheetal ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sheetal V. Kakkad svkakkad@cs.utexas.edu Office: (512) 471-9586 Dept of Computer Sciences, UT-Austin Home: (512) 450-1756 ======================================================================