How Long You Need To Wait To Raise A Service Request For I-129?

form I-129 petition

Introduction to Premium Processing for Form I-129 Petitions
How Does the Premium Processing Service Work?
Which Form I-129 Petitions Are Eligible for Premium Processing?
Who Can Request Premium Processing?
Form I-907 Filing Process and Fees
Boosted Data
Conclusion: Premium Processing for Form I-129 Petitions

Introduction to Premium Processing for Form I-129 Petitions

The Usa Citizenship and Clearing Services (USCIS) allows sure petitioners who have filed a Course I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, to request speedy processing of the Grade I-129 through the Premium Processing Service. In order to request premium processing, the petitioner must have filed a Course I-129 in a category that allows for premium processing, and must file a Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, along with a fee. This commodity volition explain the rules and benefits of the Premium Processing Service for nonimmigrant piece of work visa petitions. To learn nearly using the Premium Processing Service to request premium processing of a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Conflicting Worker, please follow this link.

How Does the Premium Processing Service Piece of work?

USCIS guarantees fifteen-calendar day processing of a Class I-129 through the Premium Processing Service. The fifteen-twenty-four hours menstruation begins when USCIS receives USCIS volition refund the premium processing fee if it fails to process the Form I-129 within 15 calendar days of the receipt of the Form I-129 with the Grade I-907.^ane

Information technology is of import to note that "processed" does not necessarily mean that the Class I-129 volition exist approved or denied within 15 days. Rather, "processed" means that the petitioner should have a response from the USCIS within 15 days. The response may be an:

Approval;
Denial;
Asking for Evidence (RFE);
Notice of Intent to Deny;
Discover of an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation. ²

If the USCIS problems a RFE or a Discover of Intent to Deny, the fifteen-day clock will start anew once USCIS receives a complete response from the petitioner.

Which Form I-129 Petitions Are Eligible for Premium Processing?

The following nautical chart courtesy of the USCIS website lists the types of immigrant petitions that are eligible for premium processing:

one. The availability date is the date that the nomenclature was initially deemed eligible for Premium Processing Service.
2. The termination date reflects the final 24-hour interval that USCIS accepted filings requesting that specific classification. If a appointment is entered in this column, that nomenclature is currently ineligible for filing.
three. On March 5, 2015, USCIS suspended the adjudication of Form I-129 H-2B petitions. As a issue, effective March 6, 2015, USCIS will not accept premium processing requests for H-2B petitions. If a petitioner requested premium processing before March v, 2015 and the agency did non act on the case inside the xv calendar day period, USCIS volition issue a refund. USCIS lifted the temporary suspension of the adjudication of Form I-129 H-2B petitions on March 17, 2015 only premium processing requests for H-2B petitions remain suspended. On April 17, 2015, USCIS announced that it would resume processing premium processing asking on April xx, 2015.
4. Premium Processing for nonimmigrant religious worker visa petitions was initially suspended on November 28, 2006. On July xx, 2009, USCIS resumed acceptance of Form I-907 for I-129 petitions seeking R-1 classification just only from those petitioners who have previously completed a successful on-site inspection at the location where the casher will exist employed.

If a Form I-129 is for an immigrant visa category not listed on the chart, it is not eligible for premium processing.

Please annotation that premium processing for nigh H1B petitions is currently suspended. For details on which H1B petitions are affected, please run across our full article on the subject [run across article].

USCIS notes that the Premium Processing Service is currently suspended for all Course I-129 petitions that request either a change of condition or an initial grant of status for beneficiaries within the Republic of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Premium processing does not accord any special cap benefits to H1B, H2B, and certain H3 classifications that accept annual cap restrictions. Therefore, a petitioner should check if the Form I-129 in question in a cap-subject category is eligible for processing before requesting premium processing. If necessary, USCIS will apply a random choice process to all cap-field of study petitions received in a given date when a sufficient number of petitions have been received to reach the cap. If a petition that was filed with a premium processing asking is non selected, the fee will be returned.

Premium processing of Form I-129 petitions for R1 religious workers is just available for petitioners who have previously completed a successful on-site inspection at the location where the beneficiary will be employed.ⁱⁱⁱ

Who Can Asking Premium Processing?

Only the petitioner who filed the Grade I-129 may request premium processing (or the attorney-of-record as established by the filing of the Course G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative). Unless the immigrant visa bidder is a self-petitioner, the petition beneficiary may not asking premium processing.

While the payment for the Premium Processing Service may exist submitted by the petitioner, the attorney-of-record, or the beneficiary, the beneficiary cannot sign the Form I-907.

Form I-907 Filing Process and Fees

Using the Correct Course I-907

Before filling out the Class I-907, it is essential to ensure that the correct version of the Form I-907 is existence used.

In order to check, USCIS advices that the petitioner compare the "edition appointment" on the lower correct corner of the Form I-907 in question to the "edition date" listed on USCIS's "I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service" webpage (www.uscis.gov/i-907) [link].

The Form I-907 will be accepted if both dates friction match, or if the current date listed on the USCIS webpage is later, but there is a designation "Y."

Filing the Form I-907

The petitioner or attorney-of-representative must complete and sign the Form I-907 in accord with the instructions for the current version of the grade (see instructions for the current version of the Grade I-907 every bit of Jan two, 2016).

The petitioner may file the Form I-907 meantime with the Grade I-129 or for a Form I-129 that is already pending.

If the petitioner is filing the Class I-907 concurrently with the Course I-129, information technology must file both the Form I-129 and Grade I-907 at the Service Center designated as the advisable filing location on the Form I-129 instructions.

If the petitioner is filing the Course I-907 to asking premium processing of an already-pending Form I-129, it must submit the Form I-907, along with a Grade I-797, Receipt Notice, for the Form I-129, to the USCIS service heart where the Class I-129 is pending. If the petitioner received a transfer notice, that means that the Form I-129 is beingness candy at the service heart designated on the transfer detect rather than the service center that the Form I-129 was submitted to. To request premium processing for such a Form I-129, the Class I-907 should include a copy of the transfer notice and should be submitted to the transfer location.

If a standalone Form I-907 is filed at the wrong service centre, USCIS may forward the Form I-907 to the correct service center. However, the 15-day menstruum volition not start until the Form I-907 is received at the correct service center.

USCIS volition reject the Form I-907 and return the accompanying fee if the Form I-907 is filed concurrently with a Form I-129 at the wrong service center.

It is important to file the Form I-907 at the correct service eye since a failure to do so will result either in the outright denial of the Form I-907 or a filibuster in the start of the xv-day premium processing period.

Fees

From 2010 through 2018, the fee for the Form I-907 was $1,255. Notwithstanding, the USCIS is raising the fee to $1,410, effective October ane, 2018. Please see our full article to learn more about the premium processing fee increase [see article].

The USCIS once more raised the filing fee for requests for premium processing to $1,440, effective November 29, 2019 [see blog].

Effective October 19, 2020, the fees for premium processing requests relating to all Grade I-129 petitions except those requesting H2B or R1 nonimmigrant status were increased to $2,500 [see article]. The premium processing fee for Class I-129 petitions requesting H2B or R1 nonimmigrant status was increased to $1,500.

Additional Data

Petitioners designated as not-for-turn a profit entities may request discretionary expedited service in lieu of the Premium Processing Service. If expedited service is denied, the petitioner is still eligible to file for premium processing.

At no boosted charge, USCIS will endeavor to provide speedy processing of a Class I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status filed by a dependent of the principal beneficiary if it is filed at the same time that the Grade I-907 is filed for the primary. However, this is a courtesy service, and USCIS cannot guarantee faster processing of the Grade I-539.

USCIS has a special phone number and email address bachelor for Premium Processing Service customers to address inquiries regarding the premium processing. The contact data tin can exist plant on the USCIS website.

The petitioner may provide a self-addressed envelope or courier package skid when filing the Form I-907 in order to obtain the results of the premium processing expeditiously.

Conclusion: Premium Processing for Class I-129 Petitions

The Premium Processing Service is a valuable tool to ensure expeditious processing of a Form I-129. Whether the Service is worthwhile depends on the circumstances of the petitioner and the specific example. While the Form I-907 and instructions may be found online, we highly recommend consulting with an experienced clearing attorney for assistance in requesting premium processing and for the entire nonimmigrant work visa petitioning process.

To larn nearly the Premium Processing Service for immigrant Form I-140 petitions, please read our full commodity.

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8 C.F.R. 103.2(f)(1)
66 FR at 29682
USCIS, Q&A's, USCIS Announces Resumption of Premium Processing Service for R-1, reprinted in 86 No. 29 Interpreter Releases 1993-94 (Aug. 3, 2009)

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS:

"How Practise I Utilise the Premium Processing Service?," USCIS, October 26, 2015, available at http://www.uscis.gov/forms/how-exercise-i-apply-premium-processing-service [link]

Kurzban, Ira J. Kurzban's Clearing Law Sourcebook: A Comprehensive Outline and Reference Tool. 14th ed. Washington D.C.: AILA Publications, 2014. 1084-87, 859, Print. Treatises & Primers.