On March 20, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the agency will suspend its Premium Processing service for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap H-1B petitions. This suspension impacts H-1B “cap subject” petitions filed during the first five business days of April 2018, including H-1B petitions filed under the “Master’s Cap” exemption. USCIS expects this suspension to last until September 10, 2018.
During this temporary suspension, USCIS will reject any Premium Processing request (Form I-907) filed with a FY 2019 cap subject H-1B petition. Therefore, any H-1B cap subject petitions that have been prepared with a premium processing request, will have that documentation and filing fee check removed prior to filing with USCIS. Jackson & Hertogs will contact employers of any H-1B cap subject petitions that were selected under the lottery and remain pending when the suspension is lifted. At that time, a Premium Processing request may be submitted to USCIS to upgrade the pending filing.
This suspension does not include non-cap subject petitions. USCIS will continue to process Premium Processing requests for H-1B extensions, H-1B employer transfers, and other premium processing eligible visa categories.
About the H-1B cap
On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap. The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2019 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap.
As in prior years, USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the H-1B cap during the first five business days of this year’s program. The agency will monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public when the H-1B cap has been met. If USCIS receives an excess of petitions during the first five business days, the agency will use a lottery system to randomly select the number of petitions required to meet the cap. Petitions selected under the lottery will receive a filing fee receipt notice, which verifies that the case was selected under the lottery and forwarded to an officer for adjudication. USCIS will reject all unselected petitions that are subject to the cap, as well as any petitions received after the cap has closed, and return those rejected petitions to our office. We will notify clients of receipt notice issuance or petition rejection as soon as received in our office.
About Premium Processing
USCIS provides premium processing service for certain employment-based petitions and guarantees a 15-calendar-day processing time. USCIS has announced that H-1B cap subject petitions may not be submitted with a request for premium processing.
