USCIS Extends Suspension of H-1B Premium Processing and Increases
Premium Processing Filing Fee
On
August 29, 2018, the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS)
announced that its suspension of Premium Processing for Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B
Cap Petitions will be extended to February 19, 2019. Originally, the suspension
was meant to end in early September. Now, starting on September 11, 2018, the
USCIS will not accept Premium Processing for an H-1B Petition unless the filing
is statutorily cap-exempt or if the Petition requests a continuation of
previously-approved employment without change – whether the employee is present
in the United States and seeking an extension of stay, or if they are presently
outside the United States and will need to apply for a Visa to return. For all
other H-1B Petitions, (e.g. Amended H-1B Petitions, H-1B Portability Petitions
and new employment for H-1B employees abroad), Premium Processing will not be
available until at least February 19, 2019.
The
USCIS cited several reasons for its decision to extend and expand its
suspension of H-1B Premium Processing, all of which are nothing new: a back-log
of pending petitions due to an increase of Premium Processing requests, as well
as the need to process H-1B Extension Petitions which are approaching their
240-day limit as well as other H-1B Petitions with “time-sensitive start
dates.” These reasons conflict with the fact that H-1B Cap Petitions, many of
which are currently pending, also have “time-sensitive start dates” of October
1, 2018, yet will not have access to Premium Processing. Also, the extension correlates
with the USCIS’ implementation of its July 13, 2018 Policy Memorandum (PM)
602-0050.1 which allows the USCIS greater latitude to deny any application,
petition or request for an immigrant or nonimmigrant benefit – such as H-1B –
without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny
(NOID). With the extended suspension, the USCIS will also have more time to
decide these cases.
On
August 31, 2018, the USCIS released a Final Rule increasing Premium Processing
fees from $1,225.00 to $1,410.00 effective September 30, 2018. The Premium
Processing fee was last increased in 2010 and therefore the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) is increasing the fee based on inflation. The USCIS
intends to use the premium funds that are generated by the fee increase to
provide certain premium processing services to business customers, and to make
infrastructure improvements in the adjudications and customer-service
processes. In recent years, premium processing has been suspended on
employment-based petitions to permit officers working on premium processing
cases to process long-pending nonpremium filed petitions as well as to prevent
a lapse in employment authorization for beneficiaries of extension petitions
resulting from the high volume of incoming petitions and a significant surge in
premium processing requests. DHS estimates an additional $44 million in revenue
to be collected from the increase in premium processing fees due to adjustment
of inflation.
Number of Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing)
Received Annually
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
Average
|
|
189,588
|
218,400
|
234,576
|
319,517
|
231,839
|
238,784
|
http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/731706/work+visas/USCIS+Extends+And+Expands+Suspension+Of+H1B+Premium+Processing
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