I-140 Petitions from June 1 st : USCIS will accept premium processing for all eligible I-140 petitions from June 1 st , 2020. in Politics and East Asian Studies from Brandeis University. Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security  Â, USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing for All I-129 and I-140 Petitions Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, USCIS Response to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. To avail of the service, the employer needs to file Form I-907 and include a fee that (as of 2020) is $1,440. On May 29, 2020, USCIS announced that it intends to reinstate premium processing service for eligible I-129 petitions and I-140 petitions in stages over the next few months. USCIS premium processing will be available for H4, L2, EAD, F1, and EB1-C i-140 applications. Specifically, we guarantee processing within 15 calendar days to those who choose to use this service, or we will refund the premium processing service fee and will continue with expedited processing. The Act included the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act, which requires USCIS to establish and collect additional premium processing fees, and to use those additional funds for expanded purposes. However, we will not be able to send notices using pre-paid envelopes. USCIS does not process PERM. Congress hopes that by expanding premium processing to additional categories businesses with deep pockets will step in and help fund USCIS without requiring government funding. Official websites use .gov Below is the summary of the press release by USCIS. Including all options and plans for electronic filing process, processing times reports, etc. We will only send batch-printed notices. USCIS does not process H4 in premium processing. However, the agency is still in budgetary trouble because of the Trump administration’s relentless attacks on the legal immigration system, which have made many people rethink whether to apply for a benefit in a first place. Recently, a big stopgap spending bill has been passed by the Senate and signed by the president. It is the petitionerâs responsibility to demonstrate that they meet at least one of the expedite criteria. This announcement expands upon and supersedes the previous announcement.Â. All expedite requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and requests granted at the discretion of USCIS office leadership. Premium processing provides expedited processing for Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. 2. Currently, premium processing is available to employers filing a petition for certain temporary (nonimmigrant) worker visa categories and a petition for certain employment-based immigrant visa categories. Since USCIS is funded by application fees, that means less money for the agency. Effective today, March 20, 2020, USCIS will not accept any new requests for premium processing. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS An agency funded by fees won’t be able to sustain itself if they stop anyone from wanting to come to the U.S. in the first place. EB-1 petitions for multinational executives and managers and EB-2 petitions for those seeking national interest waivers Report within 180 days : USCIS should submit a report to Congress within 180 days after this bill is passed to list our the 5 years plan and project costs, etc. Premium Processing is a service offered by USCIS for faster processing of certain forms filed with them. Although the agency did not need to go through with planned furloughs, Congress has nevertheless acted to provide the agency with a new way to raise money through the expansion of “premium processing.” This system allows businesses to pay high fees to skip to the front of the line and have their petitions adjudicated quickly. But Congress has allowed USCIS to raise premium processing fees every two years—without rulemaking—based on the Consumer Price Index. What Is Premium Processing? This isnât good news for many people. Currently, premium processing is available to employers filing a petition for certain temporary (nonimmigrant) worker visa categories and a petition for certain employment-based immigrant visa ⦠Petitioners who have already filed a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, or Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, using the premium processing service and who receive no agency action on their case within the 15-calendar-day period will receive a refund, consistent with 8 CFR 103.7(e). USCIS Premium Processing fees. By expedited processing, USCIS guarantees a 15-calendar day processing to those petitioners or applicants for a fee of $1,440. Premium processing provides expedited servicing of application for certain employment-based petitions and applications. This includes new premium processing requests for all H-1B petitions, including H-1B cap-subject petitions for fiscal year 2021, petitions from previous fiscal years, and all H-1B petitions that are exempt from the cap. Prior to joining the Council, he was an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow placed as a Staff Attorney at the Immigration Law Unit of The Legal Aid Society in New York City, representing immigrants placed in removal proceedings because of a prior criminal conviction. For the first time, premium processing will become available for applications to change or extend nonimmigrant status for dependents (such as H-4 spouses and children of H-1B workers) and applications for employment authorization documents. When implemented, premium processing fees on current categories will increase from $1,440 to $2,500, except for H-2B agricultural workers and R-1 religious workers where premium processing fees will be set at $1,500. Any Form I-907 postmarked on or after Oct. 19 must include the new fee amounts. Notes If you are applying for your initial (first) employment authorization based on having a pending asylum application and USCIS does not adjudicate the application within 30 days, you may be a member of the class action case, We will notify the public with a confirmed date for resuming premium processing.Â. While, USCIS cannot go forward with this fee increase, they are now required, under the new Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (H.R. The expansion of premium processing will likely bring some needed relief to USCIS’s budget crisis. That change, among others, threatens to put the agency even further into a financial hole. The 15-calendar-day period for USCIS action under premium processing begins when the current version of the Request for Premium Processing Service (I-907 form), along with the premium processing fee, is filed with the USCIS. Rather, the law calls for the USCIS to go through the regulatory process to set the required fees. Congress hopes that by expanding premium processing to additional categories businesses with deep pockets will step in and help fund USCIS without requiring government funding. Can i apply PERM in premium processing? USCIS will reject the I-907 and return the $1,440 filing fee for all petitions requesting premium processing that were mailed before March 20 but not yet accepted. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Congress also placed a “ceiling” on the fee USCIS could charge for some of the new categories, such as $1,750 for an application for employment authorization and a maximum processing time of 30 days. 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