USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing for Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B Cap Cases

By Frances Rayer | frayer[AT]cozen.com | Cozen O’Connor

USCIS announced on March 20, 2018, that it will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. The suspension is expected to last until September 2, 2018. Any Form I-907 Request for Premium Processing filed with a cap-subject H-1B petition will be rejected.

NOTE: This temporary suspension of premium processing only affects H-1B cap-subject petitions. USCIS will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions not subject to the cap.

USCIS states that this temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions will allow the service to process long-standing petitions that it has been unable to process due to the high volume of incoming petitions and the significant surge in premium processing requests over the last two years. It will also allow the service to prioritize adjudication of H-1B extension of status cases nearing the 240-day mark.

As a reminder, any cap-subject H-1B petition must be filed and received at USCIS during the five-day period between April 2, 2018, and April 6, 2018.