U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that on June 16, 2008, it will begin accepting Premium Processing Service requests for Forms I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) filed on behalf of certain alien workers who are nearing the end of their sixth year in H-1B nonimmigrant status.
Under premium processing service, USCIS guarantees it will process these applications within 15 calendar days for an additional processing fee of $1,000. On July 2, 2007, USCIS temporarily suspended the Premium Service for all I-140 petitions.
An alien in H-1B status is allowed a maximum of six years of stay. However, AC21 Act allows an alien to extend H-1b status beyond the six year limitation so long as an I-140 petition has been approved and a visa number is not available, which would restrict the alien from filing the I-485 or receiving I-485 approval. In this exception, H-1B status may be extended in three-year increments. So, if the premium service for some I-140 petitions is resumed, beneficiaries can extend their H-1B in three-year increments.

Starting on June 16, 2008, USCIS will begin accepting Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for Forms I-140 filed for alien beneficiaries who, as of the date of filing the Form I-907:
• Are currently in H-1B nonimmigrant status;
• Will reach the 6th year of their H-1B nonimmigrant stay in 60 days;
• Are only eligible for a three-year increment H-1B extension under AC21 §104(c) upon approval of their Form I-140 petition; and
• If the alien can apply one year H-1B extension, he/she cannot use the Premium Processing based on the new policy.

Under the Premium Processing Program, USCIS may place such conditions of availability for the service. The petitioner must establish that the Form I-140 filed with Form I-907 satisfies these conditions. Filings that do not clearly meet the conditions may not receive Premium Processing Service and will be rejected as described below.
To facilitate USCIS’s determination of whether a particular filing meets the conditions, petitioners can submit:
1. A copy of the alien beneficiary’s Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, reflecting current H-1B nonimmigrant status;
2. Copies of all Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record and I-797 H-1B or L approval notices that have been issued on his or her behalf;
3. A copy of the relating Form I-140 petition receipt notice, if the Form I-140 was previously filed; and,
4. A copy of the labor certification approval letter issued by the Department of Labor, if filing under EB-2 or EB-3 classifications.
Form I-907 Premium Processing Service requests will be rejected and returned with the I-907 fee, and the Form I-140 petition will be processed according to standard procedures if the Form I-907 is:
• Submitted without documentation establishing the conditions for availability noted above; or
• Incorrectly submitted concurrently with a Form I-140 petition at a USCIS office without geographic jurisdiction over the Form I-140 petition; or
• Submitted to request Premium Processing Service for a Form I-140 petition filed for an alien beneficiary who is eligible to extend his or her H-1B nonimmigrant status with one-year increment under AC21 §106(a) as of the date that the Form I-907 is received by USCIS.
USCIS will accept Form I-907 either together with the Form I-140 petition or after the filing of the Form I-140 petition through the mail or delivery service only. E-filing for Form I-907 will not be available.
USCIS expects that adding other classifications to Premium Processing Service at this time would exceed USCIS’ capacity to provide timely Premium Process Service. USCIS will continue to evaluate whether it is able to process other groups of cases beyond this limited classification of petitions and will provide notification of any further availability of Premium Processing Service for Form I-140 at http://www.uscis.gov.
The Premium Processing Service guarantees petitioners that, within 15 calendar days of receipt of a petition, USCIS will either issue an approval or denial notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence, or a notice of investigation for fraud or misrepresentation. Information about Premium Processing Service is available on the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov or by calling the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll free at 1-800-375-5283.
Please note, before July 2, 2007, USCIS had established the Premium Service for I-140 petitions in the following categories:
• EB-1(a), aliens with extraordinary ability; EB-1(b), outstanding professors and researchers; excluding EB-1(c) (managers and executive transferees)
• EB-2, members of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability not seeking an NIW
• EB-3 (all categories)
Therefore, this new policy regarding the resumption of I-140 Premium Service are available for the categories listed above. NIW is not covered for the time being.
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