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ARTICLE · 16 MARCH 2017

USCIS To Temporarily Suspend Premium Processing For H-1B Visas

Holland & Knight
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, starting on April 3, 2017, USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions.

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Tara Vance
Tara Vance
Neal Beaton
Neal Beaton
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Tara L. Vance and Neal N. Beaton are Partners in our New York office.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, starting on April 3, 2017, USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions. The suspension could last up to six months.

Practical Effect of Suspension

Typically, a petitioning employer filing an H-1B visa petition on behalf of a potential employee is able to file a Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing Service) and pay an additional USCIS filing fee of $1,225 to request that the accompanying Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) be processed on an expedited basis. If premium processing is requested, USCIS is required to process (i.e., approve, deny or request additional evidence) the visa petition within 15 calendar days. If premium processing is not requested, USCIS usually takes between three and six months to process the visa petition.

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