Home  >  Uncategorized  >  Availability of premium processing for FY 2020 H-1B cap cases

Availability of premium processing for FY 2020 H-1B cap cases

Authored by:

Shama Merchant Poonja Headshot

CEO & Managing Attorney

Shama Merchant Poonja

As a first generation American, Ms. Poonja is committed to the field of immigration law. Since 2013, Ms. Poonja has been representing corporate and individual clients on a wide variety of business and family immigration law matters.

Reviewed by:

Sejal Parikh Headshot

Senior Attorney

Sejal Parikh

Ms. Parikh’s experience in business immigration includes representing employers of all sizes in various industry verticals, from Fortune 500 multinational corporations to emerging growth companies, startups, and large consulting companies. She provides expertise across a wide range of employment-based cases, focusing on both nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions.

Share

USCIS has announced that premium processing will be available for the FY 2020 H-1B cap season. Premium processing will be available in stages and priority will be given to H-1B cap petitions that are requesting a change of status, so that USCIS can best manage the premium processing requests without fully suspending it as they have done in previous years. USCIS’ approach to premium processing for these cases will be as follows

  1. Between April 1 and April 5, 2019, H-1B cap change of status petitions will be able to request premium processing concurrently with the filing of the H-1B petition. USCIS plans to delay the start of the 15 day processing clock for these petitions until May 20, 2019 at the latest.
  2. H-1B change of status petitions that do not request premium processing concurrently with the initial cap filing, will need to wait until May to upgrade those petitions to premium processing. USCIS will notify the public before premium processing begins for these petitions.
  3. H-1B cap cases that do not include a request to change status, such as requests for consular processing, will have to wait until June 2019 at the earliest to upgrade those petitions to premium processing. Concurrent requests for premium processing will not be accepted for the initial filing of these cases. USCIS will notify the public with a confirmed date for premium processing for these petitions.

Employers who wish to request premium processing for their initial H-1B change of status petitions should contact us immediately

Finnan, Fleischut & Associates will continue to keep our clients advised of important developments in this area.  If you have specific questions about how these developments affect a current or possible future situation, please contact us.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is for general information purposes only and does not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. Viewing information on this website and/or contacting Naya Law Group, PC does not establish an attorney-client relationship. This blog should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice for any individual case or situation from an attorney licensed or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction.