The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today that it will resume premium processing on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019 for all H-1B petitions filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018.
Premium processing is an expedited process. For an additional filing fee of $1,410, USCIS will adjudicate or issue a Request for Evidence within 15 calendar days. If USCIS is unable to meet the required 15-day timeline, the premium processing fee is refunded.
Premium processing for eligible H-1B petitions may be requested at the Service Center where the case is being processed. Petitioners may also submit a premium processing request with a response to a previously issued request for evidence. USCIS has indicated that in the case of a petition that has been transferred and the premium processing request is received at the wrong service center; USCIS will forward the premium processing request to the correct service center. However, the 15-day processing time will not accrue until the request is received by the correct service center.
The temporary suspension of premium processing remains in effect for H-1B petitions to which it applied that were filed on or after Dec. 22, 2018.
USCIS will resume premium processing for the remaining H 1B petitions as workloads permit and will notify the public of these changes on its website.
Partial Return Of Premium Processing To Pending H-1B Petitions On Tuesday, February 19, 2019
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