I needed advice regarding my H1b visa that expires in August 2011, my first 3 years approval was stamped at a US Consulate out of the US. Do I need to travel out of the US to have a new 3year visa stamped again or can it been done while I'm in the US?

I had to wait nearly 2.5months for an administrative review so I don't want to run into that problem again if I have to renew it abroad will I be subject to that review again? Do I have to have it done at the same consulate where I did it initially (it wasn't my home country if that makes a difference)?

Thanks for your reply.

all visas are issued outside the US, at the US embassy or US consulate.

You are subject to the same security screening (the call it administrative review) every time you apply for a visa. It should be faster the next time you apply, but not necessarily. The security clearance depends on many factors that can change daily.

I thought there was a renewal or an extension that you can do while you're in the US. Then only when you need to travel out of the country later will you need to visit the US embassy or US consulate to get it stamped so you can come back into the US

You are getting confused with the visa and your visa status.

Your visa is a document issued into your passport by AMCON or the US embassy. Your visa status is evidenced by the I-94 or the I-797 EOS approval notice.

You asked about your visa, so the answer was directed to visa. Regarding your visa status, you can extend that by filing the extension of status. You will get an I-797 approval notice. To travel, you will use that to apply for the visa. Confirm this with your company immigration attorney. Good luck,