On May 29, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will resume its premium processing service in phases over the next month. With premium processing, USCIS should respond within 15 days of receipt of certain I-129 and I-140 filings.  To request premium processing, there is an additional $1,440 premium processing filing fee. The premium processing service had been suspended since March 20, 2020 when USCIS announced the temporary suspension of its premium processing adjudication service due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Beginning June 1, 2020, USCIS will accept premium processing service requests for all eligible Form I-140 petitions.  This includes I-140 Immigrant Petitions filed based upon a certified PERM labor certification application. 

Beginning June 8, 2020, USCIS will accept premium processing service requests for the following petitions: 

• Form I-129 petitions for H-1B status filed before June 8, 2020 that are pending adjudication and that are cap-exempt, including petitions filed by cap-exempt petitioners and petitions filed for beneficiaries who were previously counted toward the annual H-1B cap; and
• All other Form I-129 petitions for nonimmigrant classifications other than H-1B that are eligible for premium processing, such as L-1, O-1 and TN, and that were filed before June 8, 2020. 

Beginning June 15, 2020, USCIS will accept premium processing service requests for the following petitions: 

• Form I-129 petitions for H-1B status concurrently filed after June 8, 2020 and that are exempt from the H-1B cap because: 
  • The employer is cap-exempt or because the beneficiary will be employed at a qualifying cap-exempt institution, entity, or organization; or
  • The beneficiary is cap-exempt based on a Conrad/IGA waiver under INA section 214(I). 

Effective June 22, 2020, USCIS will accept premium processing service requests for all other Form I-129 petitions, including: 

• All H-1B cap-subject petitions; and
• All other Form I-129 petitions for nonimmigrant classifications, such as L-1, O-1, and TN, that are eligible for premium processing and that are filed concurrently with premium processing service requests. 

USCIS notes that the above dates are subject to change as it continues to take on more premium processing requests, and it will announce any changes to these dates if necessary. 

Foster will continue to monitor government closures and other action related to COVID-19, and will provide additional updates on the immigration-related impacts of COVID-19 via our firm’s website at www.fosterglobal.com.