USCIS to Resume Premium Processing for Certain Petitions

On May 29, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would resume premium processing for certain Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, in phases over the month of June.

With premium processing, USCIS guarantees employers a response to a petition filed with its office within fifteen (15) days. On June 1, 2020, USCIS will accept requests for premium processing for all eligible Form I-140 petitions. On June 8, 2020, USCIS will accept premium processing requests for any H-1B petitions filed before June 8, 2020 that are pending adjudication and are exempt from the numerical H-1B cap, as well as all other Form I-129 petitions (non-H-1B petitions) for nonimmigrant classifications eligible for premium processing filed before June 8, 2020 that are pending adjudication.

On June 15, 2020, premium processing service will resume for petitions filed by employers who are cap-exempt or because the beneficiary will be employed at a qualifying cap-exempt organization, as well as certain other cap-exempt petitions. Lastly, on June 22, 2020, USCIS plans on resuming premium processing for all other Form I-129 petitions filed by employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant workers. 

USCIS previously announced the temporary suspension of premium processing for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 20, 2020.