USCIS to Implement Premium Processing for Certain Previously Filed Form I-140 Petitions

On May 24, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would begin implementing premium processing for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140 under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.

As explained in our previous alert, USCIS had announced that it will expand its premium processing service to include additional immigration benefit case types, pursuant to a final rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The rule is intended to implement the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act passed by Congress and is part of USCIS’s efforts to reduce existing backlogs and provide needed relief to Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cardholders.

While the rule will become effective on May 31, 2022, it will be implemented in a phased approach over a three-year period. USCIS has now begun implementing these changes to premium processing, starting with certain Form I-140 classifications: EB-1C (classification as a multinational executive or manager) and EB-2 (classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW)).

This expansion will occur in the following phases:

  • Beginning June 1, 2022, USCIS will accept premium processing requests for EB-1C multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before January 1, 2021.
  • Beginning July 1, 2022, USCIS will accept premium processing requests for EB-2 NIW petitions received on or before June 1, 2021, and EB-1C multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before March 1, 2021.

USCIS will only accept premium processing requests for currently pending cases based on their date of filing, as noted above. USCIS is not accepting new Form I-140 petitions in these categories with a premium processing request at this time. We anticipate that USCIS will expand premium processing requests for more recently filed EB-1 and EB-2 petitions in the future.

Article By Shannon N. Parker of Mintz

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USCIS Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing for H-1B Petition

USCIS H1-B visa premium processingOn March 3, 2017, USCIS announced a temporary suspension of premium processing impacting all H-1B petitions received by USCIS beginning April 3, 2017.  The suspension will be in place for up to six months, supposedly to permit the agency to prioritize pending H-1B cases that are outside of their normal processing time and to reduce the backlog of pending H-1B cases filed in 2016.

The following case types will be impacted:

  • All H-1B petitions filed under the fiscal year 2018 H-1B cap;

  • All H-1B cap-exempt petitions; and

  • All non-cap H-1B extensions, all change of employer H-1B petitions, and all amended H-1B petitions.

The USCIS premium processing suspension does not impact a petitioner or beneficiary’s ability to request “expedited handling” of any kind of H-1B petition.  Such requests will be granted on a case-by-case discretionary basis, if the petitioner and/or beneficiary can establish severe financial loss to company or person, an emergency situation, a humanitarian situation, or governmental interest, amongst other criteria.

Please note that the premium processing program suspension applies only to H-1B filings.  Employers may continue to use the premium processing service for, among others, L-1, O-1, TN, and I-140 immigrant petition filings.

© 2017 Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. All rights reserved.

USCIS Suspends Premium Processing for H-1B Extensions

USCIS has announced that it will suspend premium processing for all H-1B extension petitions between May 26, 2015, and July 27, 2015. It will use this time to implement the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Spouses and ensure that these applications for work authorization will be adjudicated in a timely manner.

USCIS

Premium processing allows certain petitions and applications to be expedited. A decision or Request for Evidence (“RFE”) must be issued within 15 calendar days of filing the premium processing request. For this service, USCIS requires a $1,225 filing fee to be included with the petition.

USCIS will continue to process cases filed using premium processing prior to May 26, 2015. If an H-1B extension is filed under premium processing before May 26, 2015, but a decision is not issued within the 15-day period, USCIS will refund the premium processing fee. All other petitions are still eligible for premium processing.