Immigration Lawyer Blog
On March 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it will temporarily suspend its premium processing service for H-1B petitions. The suspension of premium processing takes effect for all H-1B petitions filed on or after April 3, 2017. At the present time, USCIS expects the suspension to last six months.
Premium processing allows for expedited processing of certain USCIS petitions or applications. By paying a processing fee of $1225.00, a petitioner or applicant can assure that USCIS will make a decision on their petition or application within 15 days. (USCIS guarantees that it will either: (1) approve a case; (2) deny a case; or (3) issue a Request for Additional evidence.)
The suspension of premium processing will apply to all H-1B petitions filed on or after April 3, 2017. This year, USCIS will not begin processing H-1B petitions subject to the H-1B cap until April 3, 2017. Therefore, USCIS will not be allowing any premium processing for H-1B petitions subject to the 2018 cap. In addition, USCIS will not allow premium processing for any cap exempt H-1B petitions filed on or after April 3, 2017. Examples include: (1) transfer petitions; (2) petitions filed by institutions of higher education or entities affiliated with an institution of higher education; or (3) petitions filed by nonprofit or U.S. governmental research organizations.