USCIS announced yesterday that it will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions.
When an H-1B petitioner requests the premium (or expedited) processing service by filing a Form I-907 and paying an additional USCIS filing fee of $1,410, USCIS will guarantee an adjudication (either an approval or the issuance of a request for additional evidence) within 15 calendar days of the filing date. A request for premium processing can be done in conjunction with the initial filing of the H-1B petition or, alternatively, a pending case can be converted to premium processing to expedite its adjudication. Likewise, if you have received a request for additional evidence (RFE) on a pending H-1B petition, you can include the request for conversion to premium processing with the RFE response so that the case may be adjudicated within 15 calendar days from the Service’s receipt of the RFE response.
While USCIS’ announcement indicates that all H-1B petitions are eligible for premium processing, it is not yet clear whether or not H-1B petitions filed in April under this year’s cap are eligible. Clarification should come shortly in this regard.
If the USCIS does not take adjudicative action within the 15 calendar day processing time, upon request, the Service will refund the petitioner’s premium processing service fee and will continue with expedited processing of the petition.
For additional information on the resumption of premium processing click here to access the USCIS website.
If you have questions in connection with any of the foregoing, please contact Anthony F. Siliato and Scott R. Malyk of our firm’s Immigration Law Group.