United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that on May 12, 2016, it will begin the 15 calendar day processing timeline for cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing. USCIS provides an expedited “premium processing” service for certain employment-based petitions. For non-cap-subject petitions, including H-1B and other nonimmigrant visa classifications, the 15-day processing period typically begins on the date USCIS receives the request. However, for cap-subject H-1B petitions filed in April, USCIS has historically taken additional time to complete intake and computerized random selection of the petitions for further processing prior to starting the 15-day adjudication period.

This year, USCIS received 236,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions during the first 5 business days of April. All unselected cap-subject H-1B petitions, with filing fees, will be returned to petitioners via U.S. mail.