Effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions. The resumption applies to new petitions as well as those that are pending with USCIS. USCIS’s announcement does not discuss whether premium processing will be available for upcoming filings for quota-subject H-1B petitions, which begins on April 1, 2019.
Moving Forward
Employers that plan to file new H-1B petitions may include a request for premium processing with their initial H-1B filing. Employers with pending H-1B petitions may upgrade outstanding petitions to premium processing.
Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments with respect to the policy changes and will post updates on our immigration blog as additional information becomes available.
