[author: Laura Anne Schierhoff]

On March 3, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B Petitions. The suspension begins on April 3, 2017, which means USCIS will continue to premium process all petitions filed properly before that date. After this date, petitioners will not be able to file the Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for a From I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker which requests the H-1B nonimmigrant classification. Also, if a petitioner submits one combined check for both the Form I-907 and Form I-129 H-1B fees, both forms will be rejected. USCIS has said this is a temporary suspension and may last up to 6 months. This premium processing suspension does not apply to other eligible nonimmigrant classifications filed on Form I-129. Petitioners will still be able to request to expedite an H-1B petition if they meet the USCIS criteria on the “Expedite Criteria” webpage. Since all new H-1B cap cases will be filed no sooner than April 3, this year no new H-1B cap cases will be able to use the premium processing option.