The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today February 15, 2019, that it will resume premium processing on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019 for all H-1B petitions filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018.

Premium processing is an expedited process. For an additional filing fee of $1,410, USCIS will adjudicate or issue a Request for Evidence within 15 calendar days. If USCIS is unable to meet the required 15-day timeline, the premium processing fee is refunded.

Premium processing for eligible H-1B petitions may be requested at the Service Center where the case is being processed. Petitioners may also submit a premium processing request with a response to a previously issued request for evidence. USCIS has indicated that in the case of a petition that has been transferred and the premium processing request is received at the wrong service center; USCIS will forward the premium processing request to the correct service center. However, the 15-day processing time will not accrue until the request is received by the correct service center.

The temporary suspension of premium processing remains in effect for H-1B petitions to which it applied that were filed on or after Dec. 22, 2018.

USCIS will resume premium processing for the remaining H‑1B petitions as workloads permit and will notify the public of these changes on its website.

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