Premium processing is said to resume for educational and research-oriented organizations exempt from the yearly cap of allotted H1B visas, according to United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). Under the expedited procedure, applicants can be eligible for visa approvals within 15 days, instead of a regular review period that can last several months. The standard longer approval times for companies that use the H1B visas will continue and altered as and when workloads permit.
Who is Eligible For Premium Processing?
For now, premium processing has been reinstated for the following petitioners under the H1B category of –
- An institution of higher education;
- A nonprofit related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education; or
- A nonprofit research or governmental research organization.
- For a beneficiary employed at a qualifying cap-exempt institution, organization or entity.
This announcement comes on the heels of premium processing having been started for medical doctors in June, 2017 per the Conrad 30 waiver program.
What Should Your Employer Do?
The above mentioned petitioners can begin filing through Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. These can be filed together or separately for a pending H-1B petition.
Who Else Qualifies For Premium Processing?
In addition to these categories, there are other non-immigrant petitions that may request for premium processing which include –
- E1 Treaty Trader
- E2 Treaty Investor
- H1B Temporary Workers in Specialty Occupations
- H2A Agricultural Worker
- H2B Temporary Worker
- H3 Trainee
- L1 Intra-company Transferees
- O1 and O-2 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability or Achievement
- P1, P2 and P3 Athletes and Entertainers
- Q1 International Cultural Exchange Aliens
- R1 Temporary Workers in Religious Occupations
- TN NAFTA Professionals
Premium Processing – Source of Information
For more information on how an employer can explore options of expediting visa processes Premium Processing for US Visa answers a lot frequently asked questions.
