On June 10, USCIS will begin premium processing for all remaining FY 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions. Starting on that date, petitioners may file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, with the USCIS service center that is processing their petition.
On March 19, USCIS announced that they would offer premium processing in a two-phased approach during the FY 2020 cap season to best manage premium processing requests without fully suspending it. In the past few years, USCIS suspended all premium processing for H-1B petitions due to high demand. Based on feedback from the public, USCIS is using this phased approach to benefit petitioners and ensure efficient premium processing. The first phase, which started on May 20, included FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a change of status and the second phase includes all other FY 2020 cap-subject petitions.
At this time, premium processing for H-1B petitions that are exempt from the cap, such as extension of stay requests, remains available.
Pre-paid Mailer Temporary Suspension
Starting on June 10 and continuing through the end of June 24, USCIS will not use pre-paid mailers to send out final notices for premium processing for FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions not requesting a change of status. Instead, USCIS will use regular mail. USCIS will be doing this due to resource limitations as they work to process all premium processing petitions in a timely manner.
The process for printing approval notices and sending them by regular mail is fully automated, whereas using pre-paid mailers requires a separate and more time-consuming manual process. As such, and given the initial surge of premium processing requests for H-1B cap petitions and its impact on USCIS resources, using pre-paid mailers may actually delay the issuance of an approval notice compared to the standard process, or otherwise negatively affect USCIS ability to timely process premium processing petitions. After the two-week period, USCIS intend to resume sending out final notices in pre-paid mailers provided by petitioners, when operationally feasible.
If you should have any questions or need more information about the ways in which the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Laws may impact you, your family, your friends or your colleagues, please contact the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Lawyers at the NPZ Law Group – VISASERVE – U.S. Immigration and Nationality Lawyers by e-mailing us at info@visaserve.com or by calling us at 201-670-0006 (x107). You can also visit our Law Firm’s website at www.visaserve.com