By: Navdeep Meamber

Effective October 3, 2017, USCIS has resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions. Premium processing is now available for all types of H-1B petitions, which include H-1B cap, H-1B amendment, H-1B extension and H-1B transfer.

Premium Processing Service provides expedited processing for certain employment-based petitions and applications. Under the premium process, USCIS has 15-calendar days to process the H-1B petition. The 15-calendar day period begins when USCIS receives the Request for Premium Processing Service.

If accepted for premium processing, USCIS will issue an approval notice/a denial/ intent to deny/ a request for evidence (RFE) within the 15-calendar day period. In case of an RFE, a new 15 calendar day period begins upon receipt of the RFE response by USCIS. Premium processing can be requested by filing a form I-907 along with USCIS fee of $1225.