The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced a temporary suspension of premium processing for 2019 Fiscal Year H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those cases seeking exemption on the basis of the beneficiary having obtained a U.S. masters or higher degree. It is expected that the temporary suspension will last until Sept. 10, 2018. The reason for the temporary suspension is to help reduce the overall processing times of H-1B petitions.
While the temporary suspension is in place, the USCIS will reject all Forms I-907 that are filed with the FY 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions. In cases where one check covers both the premium processing (Form I-907) and the petition (Form I-129) fees, the service will reject both applications. If the petitions are filed with two separate checks, then only the premium processing (Form I-907) will be rejected and returned. USCIS will inform stakeholders when the temporary suspension will be lifted. Once lifted, a petitioner can file a request using Form I-907 to move to premium processing.
During the period of temporary suspension, the USCIS will continue to accept premium processing requests for non-cap subject FY 2019 H-1B petitions.
The USCIS will continue to accept and rule on requests to expedite a FY 2019 H-1B cap-subject petition that falls within the parameters set forth in the Expedite Criteria webpage.