The government has announced the temporary suspension of its Premium Processing service for all H-1B petitions, effective April 3, 2017. This suspension, which may last for up to six months, applies only to the H-1B classification. The government will announce when the Premium Processing service will resume.
The Premium Processing service guarantees the adjudication of petitions filed with USCIS in 15 calendar days or less, compared to regular processing, which is currently taking around 8 months at the California Service Center and up to 12 months at the Vermont Service Center. The government states the reduction of these long processing times as a primary motivator for the suspension of Premium Processing.
The suspension will directly affect all H-1B applications filed for the H-1B lottery during the first week of April 2017. It will also affect petitions for current H-1B employees, including H-1B extensions and H-1B change of employer petitions.
Implications for our clients:
1. Employers whose H-1B petitions will be submitted by March 30: We will request Premium Processing as planned.
2. Employers who have opted for Premium Processing but whose H-1B petitions cannot be submitted before April 3: We will submit the request for Premium Processing as soon as the suspension is lifted.
3. Employers who now have an H-1B petition pending and have not yet opted for Premium Processing: You have a short window to request Premium Processing. Some reasons to request Premium Processing is for the employee to have an Approval Notice in hand before the expiration of a Driver’s License or Travel Visa (to facilitate the renewal of each). To upgrade to Premium Processing, our firm must be engaged by March 20, 2017.