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The news you have been waiting for is finally here. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the expansion of premium processing for applicants filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 nonimmigrant status.

For the first time ever, USCIS will also allow the online filing of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for these applicants.

When can I request Premium Processing service?

IMPORTANT: applicants may not request premium processing before the dates indicated below

The expansion of premium processing service for certain Form I-539 applicants will occur in two phases as follows:

  • Starting tomorrow Tuesday June 13, 2023, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed via paper form or online, for applicants seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 status, who have a pending Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.
  • Starting Monday June 26, 2023, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for applicants seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 status, when filed together with Form I-539.

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The moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived.

Yesterday, March 6, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the expansion of premium processing services for certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and wish to request a premium processing upgrade.

As of yesterday, March 6th USCIS has made possible the online filing of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for F-1 students in these categories. USCIS will also accept the latest edition of the Form I-907 by mail.

In support of this move, USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou said, “The availability of premium processing for certain F-1 students, in addition to the ease of online filing, will streamline the immigration experience for a great many international students.”

Regarding the decision to make online filing of Form I-907 available, he stated, “The ongoing expansion of online filing is a priority for USCIS as we continue to create operational efficiencies and increase access to the immigration system for stakeholders, applicants, petitioners, requestors, and those we serve.”

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Today, January 12, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is implementing the final phase of its expansion of premium processing for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 immigrant classifications.

Who does this phase apply to?

This phase applies to new (initial) petitions, and all previously filed Form I-140 petitions under an E13 multinational executive and manager (EB-1C) classification or E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW) (EB-2).

When does premium processing open for new and pending EB-1C and EB-2 petitions?

Under the final phase of premium processing, effective January 30, 2023, USCIS will begin accepting premium processing upgrades for:

  • All pending E13 multinational executive and manager petitions (EB-1C) and E21 NIW petitions (EB-2), and
  • All initial E13 multinational executive and manager petitions (EB-1C) and E21 NIW petitions (EB-2)
  • Petitioners who wish to request a premium processing upgrade must file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

The expansion of premium processing was first known to the public with the release of the final rule entitled, “Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act,” published in the Federal Register on March 30, 2022. As part of this final rule, USCIS announced the gradual expansion of premium processing to certain additional form types over a three-year period.

Background of the Planned Expansion of Premium Processing

The first phase of the planned expansion of premium processing was announced during May of 2022 and applied to certain pending EB-1 Multinational Executive and Manager and EB-2 NIW petitions.

Later, in July the agency announced a second phase of premium processing expanding premium processing of these categories to EB-1C petitions received by USCIS on or before July 1, 2021, and EB-2 petitions received by USCIS on or before August 1, 2021.

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Welcpuzzle-g75f3e575f_1920ome back to Visalawyerblog! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and wish you a prosperous new year ahead.

We kick off the new year with some important updates in the world of immigration.

Today, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will be posted in the Federal Register tomorrow Wednesday, January 4, 2023 that will increase filing fees for certain types of immigration benefits. An unpublished version is already available in the Federal Register.

A 60-day public comment period will follow the publication of the NPRM on January 4, 2023 and will close on March 5, 2023.

Fees will not change until the final rule goes into effect, and only after the public has had the opportunity to comment and USCIS finalizes the fee schedule in response to such public comments. USCIS will host a public engagement session on the proposed fee rule on January 11, 2023.

According to USCIS, the proposed fee increases are necessary to ensure that the agency will have enough resources to provide adequate services to applicants and petitioners moving forward. The agency has said that after having conducted a review of current fees, it has determined that it cannot cover the full cost of providing adjudication and naturalization services without a fee increase.

The agency cited the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the factors leading the agency to increase its fees. As you may recall, the pandemic caused a dramatic reduction in the filing of new applications, leaving USCIS with a substantial decrease in revenues of 40 percent. This unfortunate drop in applications led USCIS to reduce its workforce accordingly.

With current resources, the agency has said it is incapable of adjudicating applications in a timely manner, when considering that agency caseloads are now returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Among the new proposals included in the NPRM are measures that:

  • Incorporate biometrics costs into the main benefit fee and remove the separate biometric services fee
  • Require separate filing fees for Form I-485 and associated Form I-131 and Form I-765 filings
  • Establish separate fees for Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, by nonimmigrant classification.
  • Revise the premium processing timeframe interpretation from 15 calendar days to 15 business days
  • Create lower fees for certain immigration forms filed online.

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We hope you are having a wonderful end to your week. In this blog post, we bring you some of the most highly anticipated news from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Yesterday, September 15, 2022, USCIS announced the third phase of the expansion of premium processing service for petitioners who have a pending Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 employment-based classifications.

As with the first and second phase of the premium processing expansion, the third phase of expansion only applies to certain previously filed Form I-140 petitions under the EB-1 multinational executive and manager classification, and EB-2 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW) that were filed on certain dates. Only such petitions will be eligible to upgrade to premium processing using Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

Who will benefit?

Beginning September 15, 2022, USCIS will accept Form I-907 Premium Processing requests for:

  • EB-1 multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before January 1, 2022; and
  • EB-2 NIW petitions for advanced degree or exceptional ability received on or before February 1, 2022.

USCIS has explicitly made clear that it will reject premium processing requests for these Form I-140 classifications if the receipt date is after the dates listed above. For cases eligible to upgrade to premium processing, USCIS will guarantee 45 calendar days to take adjudicative action for these requests for premium processing service. USCIS will not accept new (initial) Forms I-140 with a premium processing request at this time for petitions that do not explicitly fall under the above categories.

USCIS also cautions members of the public that on May 24, 2022, the agency published a new version of Form I-907 Request for Premium Processing, dated 05/31/22. As of July 1, 2022, USCIS no longer accepts the older 09/30/20 edition of form I-907.

This move is part of USCIS’ commitment to expand premium processing service to additional form types in order to improve processing times and increase efficiency across the agency.

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Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! We kick off the start of the week with exciting news from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

On July 15, 2022, USCIS announced the second phase of the expansion of premium processing service for petitioners who have a pending Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 employment-based classifications.

As with the first phase of the premium processing expansion, the second phase of expansion only applies to certain previously filed Form I-140 petitions under the EB-1-3 multinational executive and manager classification, or EB-2 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW) that were filed on certain dates. Only such petitions will be eligible to upgrade to premium processing using Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

Who will benefit?

Beginning August 1, 2022, USCIS will accept Form I-907 Premium Processing requests for:

  • EB-1-3 multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before July 1, 2021; and
  • EB-2 NIW petitions for advanced degree or exceptional ability received on or before August 1, 2021.

USCIS has explicitly made clear that it will reject premium processing requests for these Form I-140 classifications if the receipt date is after the dates listed above. For cases eligible to upgrade to premium processing, USCIS will guarantee 45 calendar days to take adjudicative action for these requests for premium processing service. USCIS will not accept new (initial) Forms I-140 with a premium processing request at this time for petitions that do not explicitly fall under the above categories.

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Did you file an EB-2 National Interest Waiver petition on or before June 1, 2021, and still haven’t received a decision? What about an EB-1 petition as a multinational executive or manager filed on or before January 1, 2021? If so, be prepared for some exciting news!

USCIS recently announced the news we have all been waiting for. The agency will soon allow such applicants to upgrade their petition to Premium Processing Service by filing Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, and paying the required filing fee.

What is this next update all about?

On May 24, 2022, USCIS released a news alert notifying the public that it will expand premium processing service for certain petitioners who have filed a pending Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker under the EB-1 multinational executive/managers and EB-2 NIW immigrant classifications.

Who does this update apply to?

To qualify for premium processing service, you must have applied for your I-140 either under the E13 multinational executive, E13 manager classification, or E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW).

Those who fall under the above categories will be eligible to upgrade their petitions by requesting premium processing service and filing Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service provided they filed their petitions with USCIS within a certain time period as discussed below.

When can I apply?

  • USCIS will accept premium processing service requests for E13 multinational executive and manager petitions starting June 1, 2022, but only for those E13 executive and manager petitions that were received by USCIS on or before January 1, 2021.
  • Additionally, USCIS will accept premium processing service requests for E21 National interest Waiver petitions, starting July 1, 2022, but only for those E21 NIW petitions that were received by USCIS on or before March 1, 2021.
  • Starting July 1, 2021, USCIS will also accept premium processing service requests, but only for those E13 multinational executive and manager petitions that were received by USCIS on or before March 1, 2021. 

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Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! New developments are underway by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to improve the way the agency is communicating case processing times to members of the public.

The agency recently announced new efforts to streamline information provided on its processing times webpage. For each type of immigration benefit, USCIS releases information regarding how much time it is taking the agency to process that particular application, petition, or request. Previously, processing times were estimated based on how long the agency took to approve or deny a certain percentile of forms or petitions over the prior 6-month period.

Now, USCIS has updated their webpage so that users can find the processing time information for their particular type of case, rather than seeing an aggregate of all related case types. This provides applicants with a more accurate picture of how long their particular type of case is taking to be processed.

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In this blog post, we share exciting news in the world of immigration law. On March 29, 2022, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a much-anticipated announcement explaining the actions it will take to reduce the substantial backlog, and new policy changes that will be implemented to cut down processing times significantly.

The agency has outlined 3 main initiatives that will drastically improve processing times at the USCIS level across the board.

  1. USCIS has announced that it will be setting agency-wide backlog reduction goals
  2. Expansion of Premium Processing Service to other types of immigration petitions and
  3. Improving timely access to Employment Authorization Documents (EADs)

Backlog Reduction Initiatives

USCIS will be establishing a new system of “internal cycle time goals,” which are internal metrics that the agency will now be using to help guide the reduction of the current backlog and will determine how long it will take USCIS to process immigration benefits going forward.

The agency will be making certain efforts such as increasing its capacity, implementing technological improvements, and expanding staffing to improve these “cycle times,” so that processing times will be much quicker. USCIS expects these goals to be accomplished by the end of fiscal year 2023.

Cycle times explained

USCIS has stated that publicly, it releases processing times showing the average amount of time it takes the agency to process a particular form – from when the agency received the application until a decision was made on the case.

However, USCIS has said that it also utilizes internal mechanisms to monitor the number of pending cases in the agency’s workload through a metric called “cycle times.” A cycle time measures how many months’ worth of pending cases for a particular form are awaiting a decision.

According to USCIS, cycle times are generally comparable to the agency’s publicly posted median processing times. Cycle times are what the operational divisions of USCIS use to gauge how much progress the agency is, or is not, making on reducing the backlog and overall case processing times.

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Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! We kick off the start of a brand-new week with some important immigration updates.

USCIS Expands Premium Processing Service to E-3 Petitioners

We are happy to report that beginning February 24, 2021, petitioners filing Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, who are requesting a change or extension of status to E-3 classification, will be able to take advantage of premium processing service to expedite processing of their petition. The filing fee for premium processing service for E-3 petitions is $2,500.

What is premium processing?

Premium processing provides expedited processing for Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker and I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. The main benefit of this service is a guaranteed 15-calendar day processing time for all those who take advantage of it.

When does the 15-calendar period begin?

The 15-calendar day period begins when USCIS properly receives the current version of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, at the correct filing address noted on the form.

Once the I-907 is received, USCIS either issues an approval notice, denial notice, notice of intent to deny, or request for evidence within the 15-calendar day period.

Is premium processing available for other petitions?

At the moment premium processing service is only available for I-129 and I-140 petitions. However, H.R. 8337 proposed expanding premium processing service to other types of applications in the future including applications to change or extend nonimmigrant status, applications for employment authorization, and other types of benefit requests.

USCIS Introduces Flexibilities for Certain Students Filing Form I-765 for OPT

We are happy to report that on February 26, 2021, USCIS announced new flexibility policies for certain foreign students who have not received receipt notices for Form I-765 petitions for OPT as a result of USCIS delays.

USCIS has stated that the agency has been experiencing delays at certain lockboxes and has not been able to issue receipt notices for certain Form I-765 applications for optional practical training (OPT) for F-1 students in a timely manner.

As a result, USCIS will provide the following flexibilities to assist certain applicants for OPT who have been impacted by the delays.

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