09/04/2018 Tungol Law America Now, Headline News, Immigration, Politics, Visa/Green Card "USCIS Extends and Expands Suspension of Premium Processing for H-1B Petitions to Reduce Delays"

In a recent article by India New England News, USCIS is extending the previously announced temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions and, beginning Sept. 11, 2018, will be expanding this temporary suspension to include certain additional H-1B petitions.

“We expect these suspensions will last until Feb. 19, 2019, and will notify the public via uscis.gov before resuming premium processing for these petitions,” USCIS said in a statement. “While H-1B premium processing is suspended, we will reject any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service filed with an affected Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. If a petitioner submits one combined check for the Form I-907 and Form I?129 H-1B fees, both forms will be rejected.”

Who Is Affected

The expanded temporary suspension applies to all H-1B petitions filed at the Vermont and California Service Centers (excluding cap-exempt filings as noted below).

The previously announced suspension of premium processing for fiscal year 2019 cap-subject H-1B petitions was originally slated to last until Sept. 10, 2018, but that suspension is being extended through an estimated date of Feb. 19, 2019.

“We will continue premium processing of Form I-129 H-1B petitions that are not currently suspended if the petitioner properly filed an associated Form I-907 before Sept. 11, 2018,” said the statement.

Therefore, USCIS will refund the premium processing fee if:

• The petitioner filed the Form I-907 for an H-1B petition before Sept. 11, 2018; and
• USCIS did not take adjudicative action on the case within the 15-calendar-day processing period.

For additional information on this temporary suspension of premium processing, please go to the following link: http://indianewengland.com/2018/08/uscis-extends-and-expands-suspension-of-premium-processing-for-h-1b-petitions-to-reduce-delays/.

‍