Temporary Premium Processing Suspension Due to COVID

USCIS will impose immediate temporary premium processing suspension for Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice due to the COVID-19 epidemic. As of March 20, 2020, the Service will not accept new requests for premium processing. USCIS will process pending premium petitions in accordance with premium processing criteria. However, they will be unable to send notices using pre-paid envelopes. Rather, they will only send batch-printed notices.

Petitioners with a pending premium I-129 or I-140 who receive no agency action on their case within the prescribed 15-calendar-day period will receive a refund in accordance with the regulations. USCIS will reject any petitions filed using Premium Processing Form I-907 and return the $1,440 filing fee for all petitions mailed before March 20, 2020, but not yet accepted. The Agency will provide public notice upon resumption of premium processing.

This temporary suspension includes premium processing for the following visa categories:

• I-129: E-1, E-2, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, LZ, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1, R-1, TN-1 and TN-2.
• I-140: EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3.

This includes new premium processing requests for all H-1B petitions, including H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY2021, petitions from previous fiscal years, and all cap-exempt H-1B petitions.

Prior Suspension of Premium Processing for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions

USCIS previously announced the temporary suspension of premium processing for FY2021 cap-subject petitions and tentative dates for resumption of premium processing service on March 16, 2020. At that time, the Service stated that they would resume premium processing for FY2021 cap-subject petitions no later than May 27, 2020. They had also stated in that notice that petitioners could upgrade pending H-1B petitions when premium processing resumes. However, this notice supersedes the notice of March 16, 2020.

For current Form I-129 and I-140 processing times, visit the Check Case Processing Times page and the H-1B page on the USCIS web site.