As of March 12, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will resume premium processing of all H-1B petitions. Importantly, however, the USCIS notice does not indicate whether the resumption of H-1B premium processing will also apply to Fiscal Year 2020 H-1B Cap petitions, which are to be filed the first week of April 2019 (clarification from USCIS is being sought).
Premium processing had been suspended for many H-1B petition types, including change of employer petitions, since at least September 11, 2018. The resumption of premium processing service is welcome news for H-1B employers, who will now be able to pay an additional $1,410 USCIS filing fee in exchange for a 15-calendar day adjudication period.
For those H-1B petitions currently pending with USCIS, the premium processing requests should be sent to the service center currently handling the processing of the H-1B petition with, if applicable, a copy of the notice of transfer. The 15-day premium processing clock will not start until the request is received by the correct service center.
If a Request for Evidence (RFE) has been issued by USCIS, the RFE response should be included with the premium processing request.