U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the agency will resume premium processing Tuesday, February 19, 2019, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018.

For petitions that have received a Request for Further Evidence (RFE), petitioners should include their request for premium processing, along with required fee, when submitting the response to the RFE.

USCIS has confirmed that the suspension of premium processing remains in effect for H-1B petitions that were filed after December 21, 2018. Additionally, the suspension of premium processing remains in effect for H-1B petitions that are in preparation and yet to be filed.

As a result of the resumption of premium processing for H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018, currently the following types of H-1B petitions may be premium processed:

1.  FY-2019 H-1B petitions filed in April 2018;
2.  Cap-exempt petitions filed exclusively at the California Service Center;
3.  H-1B extension petitions filed with Nebraska Service Center;
4.  All H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018.

USCIS has indicated that the agency will resume premium processing for other types of H-1B petitions as workloads permit.

To request premium processing for an eligible H-1B petition, contact your Foster attorney. Foster will continue to monitor changes in USCIS procedures and will provide updates as appropriate via Foster Immigration Updates© and on the firm’s website at www.fosterglobal.com.