USCIS Modestly Expands Eligibility for Premium Processing Upgrades of EB-1 Multinational Manager and EB-2 National Interest Waiver I-140 Petitions

Beginning August 1, USCIS will accept Form I-907 Premium Processing upgrade requests for pending EB-1 Multinational Manager Form I-140 petitions that were filed on or before July 1, 2021, and pending EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) I-140 petitions that were filed on or before August 1, 2021.

The issue

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) is implementing the second phase of its previously announced expansion of premium processing for certain pending Forms I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, in the EB-1 Multinational Manager and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) categories.

Under this new phase, effective August 1, USCIS will begin accepting premium processing upgrades for:

• EB-1 Multinational Manager I-140 petitions received on or before July 1, 2021, and
• EB-2 NIW I-140 petitions received on or before August 1, 2021.

Petitioners who wish to request a premium processing upgrade must file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

Background

This initiative is part of USCIS’s previously announced incremental expansion of premium processing to certain additional form types over a period of at least three years. USCIS first announced expansion of premium processing to certain pending EB-1 Multinational Manager and EB-2 NIW petitions in May, and today’s announcement modestly expands the scope of pending petitions eligible for a premium processing upgrade in these two categories.

A closer look

USCIS has 45 days to take action on pending I-140 petitions upgraded to premium processing in these two categories. However, the revised regulations provide that the processing clock will only begin to run upon the date USCIS receives “all prerequisites for adjudication” – meaning that the agency may not begin to count the 45-day processing timeframe until it determines that it has received all necessary documentation appropriate for the case type. Depending on the case type and its requirements, this means that petitioners could wait longer than the specified 45-day timeframe to see action on their cases. If a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) is issued, a new 45-day period would begin once USCIS receives the petitioner’s response to the RFE or NOID.

The premium processing filing fee for these two categories of cases is currently $2,500. USCIS is authorized to adjust premium processing fees on a biannual basis, based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

What’s next

Employers and foreign nationals should begin working with their immigration counsel to identify pending cases in the affected case types for which premium processing is slated to become available in August, and determine whether premium processing should be requested when the case type becomes eligible.

The next phase of premium processing expansion is expected to include Forms I-539 and I-765 for certain F, M, and J nonimmigrants.