United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) previously announced that premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2019 would be suspended until September 10, 2018. However, the suspension has been extended and expanded to cover other H-1B applications and is now expected to last until February 19, 2019.
With very limited exceptions, this new suspension of premium processing will cover almost all H-1B applications, except those outlined below. USCIS states that the suspension will help reduce overall H-1B processing times by prioritizing long-pending and time-sensitive cases. This affects all H-1B petitions filed at the Vermont and California Service Centers, excluding the exemptions noted below.
Exemptions
The premium processing suspension does not apply to the following:
- Cap-exempt petitions that are filed exclusively at the California Service Center for beneficiaries that will be employed by a cap-exempt employer or a qualifying cap-exempt organization, institution, or entity.
- Petitions that are filed exclusively at the Nebraska Service Center by an employer requesting “Continuation of previously approved employment without change with the same employer.”
- H-1B cases that are currently filed under premium processing will continue to be processed until September 11, 2018. At that point, if they are not adjudicated, USCIS may suspend premium processing on those cases and refund the premium processing government filing fees.
Petitioners may submit a request to expedite their H-1B petition if they can provide documentation that they meet at least one of the criteria from the USCIS. If there is a need to expedite a case, please speak with your attorney to submit the expedite request. These requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the USCIS.
For further information on how this may affect your business, please consult with our attorneys. For more frequent updates, please follow us on Twitter (@GrahamAdairLaw).