Beginning August 1, 2022, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for the following petitions which are pending with USCIS:

• EB-1C multinational executive and manager I-140 petitions received on or before July 1, 2021.
• EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) I-140 petitions received on or before August 1, 2021. 

The Premium Processing filing fee for these I-140 immigrant petitions is $2,500.  Unlike previous premium processing petitions, USCIS will have 45 days to take action on pending I-140 petitions upgraded to premium processing in these two categories. The regulations state that the processing clock will only begin to run upon the date USCIS receives “all prerequisites for adjudication.”   Therefore, it is only after USCIS makes this determination that the 45-day processing clock will commence. If a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) is issued, a new 45-day period would begin once USCIS receives the petitioner’s response to the RFE or NOID.

As explained in our previous alert, USCIS announced that it would expand its premium processing service to include additional case types, pursuant to the final rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on May 31, 2022. The rule implements the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act passed by Congress and is part of the agency’s efforts to reduce existing backlogs and provide needed relief to Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cardholders.

USCIS previously expanded premium processing in the following phases:

• Beginning June 1, 2022, USCIS accepted premium processing requests for EB-1C multinational executive and manager and petitions received on or before January 1, 2021.
• Beginning July 1, 2022, USCIS accepted premium processing requests for EB-2 NIW petitions received on or before June 1, 2021, and EB-1C multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before March 1, 2021.

The next phase of premium processing expansion is expected to include Forms I-539 and I-765 for certain F, M, and J nonimmigrants. USCIS has estimated that Premium Processing for these case types will not be available until later in 2022. USCIS has announced that by 2025, premium processing will be expanded to include Form I-539 for E, H, L, O, P, and R dependents, as well as Form I-765 for additional applicants.  If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact your Mintz Immigration attorney.