Second Phase to USCIS Expansion of Premium Processing to Certain Pending Applications and Petitions
The USCIS announced today that it would begin its implementation of the second phase of expansion of the Form I-907 premium processing service to certain applications and petitions on August 1, 2022. As provided in our previous alert in March 2022, the expansion of the optional premium processing service is part of the USCIS’ efforts to increase efficiency and reduce burdens to the overall legal immigration system. This expansion will be “phased in” over the next three years.
On May 24, 2022, the USCIS announced the first phase for accepting premium processing requests for pending I-140 immigrant petitions under the EB-1C Multinational Executive and Manager and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver categories. On June 1, 2022, USCIS began accepting premium processing requests for pending EB-1C Multinational Executive and Manager petitions filed on or before January 1, 2022, and on July 1, 2022, for petitions filed on or before March 1, 2021. For the EB-2 National Interest Waiver category, the USCIS began accepting premium processing requests on July 1, 2022, for petitions filed on or before June 1, 2021.
In the recent announcement, the USCIS will begin accepting premium processing requests for the following pending I-140 immigrant petitions under the EB-1C Multinational Executive and Manager and EB-2 National Interest Waiver categories, as follows:
Premium processing is an additional fee paid to the USCIS to ‘guarantee’ initial adjudication of certain petitions or applications for immigration benefits within a specified time period. Currently, the processing times under premium processing is 15 calendar days. However, under this new policy, the processing times under premium processing will vary depending on designated petition / application classification. Please see our previous alert for processing times. The USCIS is expected to phase in additional Form I-140 petitions, Form I-539 and Form I-765 in fiscal year 2022.