Premium Processing Reinstated for H-1B Petitions Filed On or Before December 21, 2018

USCIS has announced that starting February 19, 2019, they will accept requests for premium processing “upgrades” for pending H-1B petitions which were filed on or before December 21, 2018.   As a result, at this time, the only H-1B petitions where premium processing is not available are petitions filed after December 21, 2018.     We do expect premium processing to resume for these cases over the next few weeks.

Background of the H-1B Premium Processing Service Suspension

Effective September 11, 2018 USCIS had suspended premium processing for most H-1B petitions until February 19, 2019.  All H-1B new employment, transfers and amendments filed with the California or Vermont Service Centers were affected.  Only H-1B cap-exempt employer (filed with the California Service Center) and H-1B extensions without change with the same employer (filed with Nebraska Service Center) continue to be eligible for premium processing.

This suspension has caused significant disruption to many H-1B employers and employees, many of whom have had to postpone important plans or actions due to the extremely long H-1B regular processing times.

The rationale behind this temporary suspension of the premium processing option for most H-1B petitions seems to be heavy demand and high number of H-1B filings together with the fact that regular H-1B case processing times have been steadily going up with some H-1B petitions taking more than ten months to review and process.

When Would Premium Processing be Reinstated for H-1B Petitions Filed After December 21, 2018?

While we do not have a specific commitment by USCIS for reinstatement of premium processing for all other types of H-1B petitions, we are noticing that they are aiming to reinstate the premium service gradually, to certain sets of H-1B petitions and our expectation is that premium processing for all of H-1B petitions will be available by early to mid-March 2019.

Conclusion

The extraordinary suspension of premium processing for a number of months has caused significant hardship on many employers and employees and we welcome the gradual reinstatement of the premium processing service.

We urge H-1B employers who have filed or are planning to file H-1B petitions, including extensions or change of status applications, to plan carefully and consider the timings of such applications and the anticipated reinstatement of premium processing service over the following weeks.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any help in preparing for this unanticipated H-1B premium processing disruption of service.    Please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics.