U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, as of June 16, it will resume acceptance of requests for Premium Processing for employment-based immigrant visa petitions (I-140s) on a limited basis.
According to its recent announcement, USCIS will permit premium processing for I-140 petitions filed on behalf of those foreign nationals if all of the following criteria are met:
- The beneficiary of the I-140 is currently in H-1B status;
- The sixth year of the beneficiary’s status will end within 60 days;
- The beneficiary would be eligible for further H-1B extension because the I-140 is in a category for which an immigrant visa is not immediately available, if the I-140 were to be approved; and
- The I-140 (or underlying labor certification) was filed less than 365 days before the expiration of the beneficiary’s sixth year in H-1B status.
Premium Processing Service guarantees 15 calendar-day processing for certain designated employment-based petitions and applications. Under premium processing, USCIS must issue an approval or denial notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence, or it will open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation within 15 days of the premium processing request.
We will be reviewing all cases and advising employers and beneficiaries who may benefit from this provision as we make plans to extend their H-1B status.
