On March 20th, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing service for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice. Any premium processing requests received after March 20th, 2020 will be rejected and returned, and cases already filed with premium processing that are not adjudicated within the 15-calendar-day period will have the premium processing fee of $1,440 refunded.
While premium processing is currently unavailable, petitioners are still able to make an expedite request if the criteria are met. The current criteria for an expedite request are:
- Severe financial loss to a company or person, provided that the need for urgent action is not the result of the petitioner’s or applicant’s failure to:
- File the benefit request or the expedite request in a reasonable time frame, or
- Respond to any requests for additional evidence in a reasonably timely manner;
- Urgent humanitarian reasons;
- Compelling U.S. government interests (such as urgent cases for the Department of Defense or DHS, or other public safety or national security interests); or
- Clear USCIS error.
Because expedite requests are discretionary, we strongly encourage individuals considering such a request to consult with our firm first to ensure you meet the criteria of a request and to maximize the likelihood of the USCIS approving your request.
Read the official USCIS announcement here.