Jun 30 2009

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing Services for Many I-140 Petitions

USCIS announced in late June that it will resume Premium Processing Services for Form I-140, the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. Effective June 29, 2009, the federal agency started again accepting premium processing requests for Forms I-140 for EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary Ability, EB-1 Outstanding Professors and Researchers, EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability that are not seeking a National Interest Waiver, EB-3 Professionals, EB-3 Skilled Workers, and EB-3 Workers other than Skilled Workers and Professionals.

Please note that premium processing services are not available for Forms I-140 for cases involving EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers and EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability seeking a National Interest Waiver.

Under USCIS’s Premium Processing Service, the agency guarantees that it will either issue an approval notice or, if applicable, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence, or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation within 15 calendar days for all petitioners that provide a $1,000 processing fee along with their I-140 petition. If this 15-day period is not met, the processing fee will be returned to the petitioner and USCIS will continue to process the request as part of the Premium Processing Service.