USCIS Will Temporarily Suspend Premium Processing for H-1B Lottery Cases

USCIS announced last night that premium processing will not be available for most H-1B petitions selected in this year’s lottery until June 29, 2020 (at the earliest).  However, H-1B petitions filed on behalf of international students (F-1) seeking a change of status to H-1B may request premium processing by May 27, 2020.    

According to its announcement, USCIS will notify the public before premium processing opens for H-1B petitions filed on behalf of international students.  If an employer plans on requesting premium processing for an H-1B petition on behalf of an international student, the employer must select response “b” for Item 4 in Part 2 of Form I-129, and indicate “F-1” for Item 5, “Current Non-immigrant Status” in Part 3 of Form I-129 to be eligible to file a request for premium processing as of May 27.  USCIS will notify the public with a confirmed date for resuming premium processing for all other H-1B lottery petitions.

By way of background, USCIS offers “premium processing” of certain visa petitions for an additional fee of $1,440 under which USCIS guarantees either a decision or request for evidence within 15 calendar days.  It also generates receipt and approval notices electronically (in advance of paper notices) and has a dedicated email and phone number for communicating with USCIS. 

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