Companies sponsoring certain foreign national workers can take advantage of the premium processing of petitions being implemented by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”). This is intended to supplement existing efforts to increase efficiency and remove the backlog of applications caused by the pandemic.
Initially, USCIS rolled out premium processing requests for pending multinational executive/manager I-140 petitions. Recently, USCIS has also started accepting premium processing requests (filed online or on the paper form I-907) for applicants with a pending I-539 or premium processing requests filed concurrently with an I-539 requesting a change of status to one of the following nonimmigrant statuses: F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2. Premium processing is only available for applications requesting a change of status. If biometrics is required to process the application, the biometrics must be submitted before premium processing can begin.
To initiate this process, the applicant will need to complete and file Form I-907 with the $2,500 filing fee. If the application is pending and the I-539 was filed online, then the applicant must also submit the I-907 online. On the other hand, if the applicant mailed a paper I-539 to USCIS, then the applicant must submit a paper I-907 to request premium processing.
Once USCIS acknowledges receipt, usually in the form of an email sent to the email address provided on Form I-907, the agency will take action on the application within 30 calendar days after the applicant (and co-applicant, if applicable) have submitted biometrics. Taking action on the application includes issuance of a decision, request for evidence, or other notice issued on the application. If USCIS fails to take action on the case within 30 calendar days, it will refund the premium processing fee.
With these initiatives in place, employers now have the ability to streamline immigration processing of petitions in order to best serve their business initiatives. Contact the expert Immigration Legal Team at The RAD Firm for a free consultation on how best to optimize your business immigration needs.
