USCIS ANNOUNCES FINAL PHASE OF PREMIUM PROCESSING EXPANSION FOR EB-1 AND EB-2 PETITIONS AND FUTURE E

Effective January 30, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is accepting the filing of Form I-907, Premium Processing Request (a request for 15-day adjudication) for all pending and initial multinational executives and managers (“EB-1”), and members of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (“EB-2 NIW” or “NIW”). Unlike previous phases, this phase includes premium processing for new (initial) petitions.

In March 2023, USCIS will also expand the filing of premium processing requests to certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) and F-1 students seeking STEM OPT extensions who have pending employment authorization applications. In April 2023, USCIS will also extend premium processing to F-1 students seeking OPT and STEM OPT who are filing initial employment authorization applications. USCIS has not yet announced the dates of these expansions.

USCIS is also working toward premium processing availability for Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.

Additional information about these changes is available at https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/how-do-i-request-premium-processing.

Our team continues to closely monitor DHS-USCIS updates that impact or potentially expedite our clients’ filings and immigration planning.