USCIS Extends, Expands Suspension Of Premium Processing For Certain H-1B Petitions; Increases Premium Processing Fee
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on
August 28, 2018, that it is extending the previously announced
temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B
petitions and, beginning September 11, 2018, will expand this
temporary suspension to include certain additional H-1B petitions.
USCIS said it estimates that these suspensions will last until
February 19, 2019, and that it will notify the public via uscis.gov
before resuming premium processing for these petitions. The
previously announced suspension of premium processing for fiscal
year 2019 cap-subject H-1B petitions was originally slated to last
until September 10, 2018. USCIS also said it is raising the premium
processing fee.
Suspension extended, expanded. USCIS said the
suspension will help the agency to reduce overall H-1B processing
times by allowing it to:
- Process long-pending petitions, whichUSCIS has been unable to process due to the high volume of incoming
petitions and premium processing requests over the past few
months;
- Be responsive to petitions withtime-sensitive start dates; and
- Prioritize adjudication of H-1Bextension-of-status cases that are nearing the 240-day mark.
According to reports from employers, an increasing number of
employees were insisting on premium processing for petitions due to
the increase in denials and requests for evidence (RFEs), as well
as USCIS’s “no deference” policy, assertion of
its ability to deny cases without RFEs, and its recent initiative
to start removal proceedings upon denial of nonimmigrant
petitions.
While H-1B premium processing is suspended, USCIS will reject
any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, filed with
an affected Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. If a
petitioner submits one combined check for the Form I-907 and Form I
129 H-1B fees, both forms will be rejected. The expanded temporary
suspension applies to all H-1B petitions filed at the Vermont and
California Service Centers (excluding cap-exempt filings as noted
below).
USCIS said it will continue premium processing of Form I-129
H-1B petitions that are not currently suspended if the petitioner
properly filed an associated Form I-907 before September 11, 2018.
Therefore, USCIS will refund the premium processing fee if:
- The petitioner filed the Form I-907for an H-1B petition before September 11, 2018; and
- USCIS did not take adjudicativeaction on the case within the 15-calendar-day processing
period.
The suspension does not apply to:
- Cap-exempt petitions that are filedexclusively at the California Service Center because the employer
is cap-exempt or because the beneficiary will be employed at a
qualifying cap-exempt institution, entity, or organization; or
- Petitions filed exclusively at theNebraska Service Center by an employer requesting a
“Continuation of previously approved employment without
change with the same employer” (Box b. on Part 2, question 2,
page 2 of the current Form I-129) with a concurrent request to:
- Notify the office in Part 4 so eachbeneficiary can obtain a visa or be admitted. (Box on Part 2,
question 4, page 2 of the current Form I-129); or
- Extend the stay of each beneficiarybecause the beneficiary now holds this status. (Box c. on Part 2,
question 4, page 2 of the current Form I-129).
- Notify the office in Part 4 so eachbeneficiary can obtain a visa or be admitted. (Box on Part 2,
This temporary suspension of premium processing does not apply
to any other nonimmigrant classifications filed on Form I-129,
USCIS said.
While premium processing is suspended, petitioners may submit a
request to expedite an H-1B petition if they meet the criteria on
the Expedite Criteria webpage. The petitioner must demonstrate that
he or she meets at least one of the expedite criteria, and
petitioners should be prepared to submit documentary evidence to
support their expedite requests.
USCIS said it reviews all expedite requests on a case-by-case
basis and that requests are granted “at the discretion of the
office leadership.”
The announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/uscis-extends-and-expands-suspension-premium-processing-h-1b-petitions-reduce-delays.
Increased fee for premium processing. USCIS
announced on August 31, 2018, that it is raising the premium
processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, beginning on
October 1, 2018. The premium processing fee will increase to
$1,410, a 14.9 percent increase from the current fee of $1,225.
This increase “represents the percentage change in inflation
since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer
Price Index for all Urban Consumers,” USCIS said.
Premium processing is an optional service that allows
petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain
employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra
fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base
filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be
waived.
USCIS said it intends to hire additional staff and invest in
information technology systems with the funds generated by the fee
increase.
The USCIS announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-adjusting-premium-processing-fee.
The related Federal Register final rule is at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/08/31/2018-19108/adjustment-to-premium-processing-fee.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.