H-1B Premium Processing Changes

 

USCIS Announces Changes to H-1B Premium Processing

United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced several policy changes related to the adjudication of immigration petitions.

First, USCIS is expanding the “temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions” to include any premium processing requests for H-1B petitions filed in Vermont and California. According to JD Supra:

This temporary suspension of premium processing does not apply to any other nonimmigrant classifications filed on Form I-129. Premium processing is expected to be reinstated for all H-1B petitions on February 19, 2019.

Guidance has also been released to USCIS adjudicators concerning their “discretion to deny an application, petition, or request” without first supplying a Request for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny.

According to USCIS:

“This policy is intended to discourage frivolous or substantially incomplete filings used as ‘placeholder’ filings and encourage applicants, petitioners, and requestors to be diligent in collecting and submitting required evidence.”

For more information, please click here.


The information included in this blog post originally appeared in an article in JD Supra on September 17, 2018, written by Shireen Karcutskie of Littler Mendelson P.C..

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