H-1B Visa: USCIS Resumes Premium Processing

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing on Tuesday for all H-1B visa extension of stay petitions. Premium processing is now available for all types of H-1B petitions, according to a press release by the agency.

H-1B visas provide skilled workers for a wide range of specialty occupations, including information technology, engineering, and mathematics. When a petitioner requests the agency’s premium processing service, USCIS guarantees a 15-calendar day processing time. If that time is not met, the agency will refund the petitioner’s premium processing service fee and continue with expedited processing of the application.

In addition to tuesday’s resumption of premium processing for H-1B visa extension of stay petitions, USCIS had previously resumed premium processing for H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap, petitions filed on behalf of physicians under the Conrad 30 waiver program, as well as interested government agency waivers and certain H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap.