USCIS announced today that premium processing will become available for pending H-1B cap cases as of Monday, January 28, 2019.  Employers who have received requests for evidence (RFEs) for pending H-1B cap petitions should include their RFE reply with their request for premium processing.

When an employer requests premium processing service, USCIS guarantees either a decision or an RFE within 15 calendar days.  If there is an RFE, the 15-day clock starts again once USCIS receives the reply to the RFE.  The premium processing fee is $1,410.

The temporary suspension of premium processing remains in effect for H-1B petitions to amend, extend and amend, and change employers (“portability”). In today’s announcement, USCIS said it plans to resume premium processing for the remaining categories of H‑1B petitions as agency workloads permit, although it previously indicated that it plans to do so by February 19, 2019.

We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as soon as USCIS announces any changes.

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss this development further.