USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for Certain Petitions

May 29, 2020 

Today, USCIS announced that it will resume premium processing throughout June for certain Form I-129, Petitions for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers. 

Starting June 1, 2020, USCIS will accept premium processing for all eligible Form I-140 petitions. 

Starting June 8, USCIS will accept premium processing upgrade requests for: 

• H-1B petitions filed before June 8 that are pending adjudication and are cap-exempt (for example, petitions filed by petitioners that are cap-exempt and petitions filed for beneficiaries previously counted toward the numerical allocations).  
• All other Form I-129 petitions (non H-1B petitions, e.g. L-1, O-1, TN, etc.) for nonimmigrant classifications eligible for premium processing filed before June 8 that are pending adjudication. 

Starting June 15, USCIS will resume new premium processing requests for: 

• H-1B petitions requesting premium processing by filing an I-907 concurrently with their I-129 (or request for a petition filed on or after June 8) and are exempt from the cap because:  

• The employer is cap-exempt or because the beneficiary will be employed at a qualifying cap-exempt institution, entity or organization (such as an institution of higher education, a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization); or  
• The beneficiary is cap-exempt based on a Conrad/IGA waiver under INA section 214(l). 

Starting June 22, USCIS will resume new premium processing requests for all other Form I-129 petitions, including: 

• All H-1B cap-subject petitions (including those for fiscal year 2021), including change of status from F-1 nonimmigrant status, for both premium processing upgrades and concurrently filed I-907s.  

• All other Form I-129 petitions for nonimmigrant classifications eligible for premium processing and requesting premium processing by filing an I-907 concurrently with their I-129. 

According to the USCIS website, “All dates are subject to change as USCIS continues to take on more premium processing requests and USCIS will announce any changes to these dates accordingly.” 

Weaver Schlenger will work with clients to identify cases where premium processing is recommended and discuss appropriate timing of upgrades, as applicable.