On May 29, 2020, USCIS announced its plan to resume premium processing services for I-129s (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) and I-140s (Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers) during the month of June. These services have been on hold since March 20, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The agency will roll out this service in phases beginning on June 1.
June 1, 2020
As of June 1, USCIS will once again accept a Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing Service) for all eligible Form I-140s.
June 8, 2020
As of June 8, it will accept premium processing requests for the following:
• H-1B petitions filed previous to June 8 that are pending adjudication and cap-exempt (that is, those filed by applicants who are cap-exempt and those filed for beneficiaries that have already been counted toward the annual cap).
• All other Form I-129s for nonimmigrant classifications that were filed before June 8, are pending adjudication, and are eligible for premium processing.
June 15, 2020
As of June 15, premium processing will resume for H-1B petitions in which an I-907 and an I-129 are filed concurrently (or a request for a petition filed on June 8 or afterward) and are exempt from the cap for two reasons. The first is that the employer is cap-exempt or the employee will be working at a qualifying cap-exempt institution like a university or nonprofit research organization. The second is if the applicant is cap-exempt following the Conrad/IGA waiver from INA section 214(l).
June 22, 2020
As of June 22, premium processing will resume for the remainder of I-129 petitions, such as: H-1B cap-subject petitions (including those for FY 2021), change of status applications from F-1 nonimmigrant for both premium processing upgrades and those originally filed with I-907s, and all other I-129s eligible for or requesting premium processing.
Other
Those who filed an I-129 or I-140 with premium processing before March 20 and have received neither any action or a refund may refile an I-907 according to the timeline above. These dates are subject to change, most likely to ease the workload, as USCIS resumes premium processing. They will announce any changes to the policy described above.
