1. The Premium Processing Service of Form I-140 Petition
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started the form I-140
petition Premium Processing Service, which allows U.S. employers to pay a
$1,000 Premium Processing fee in exchange for 15-calendar-day processing of
their case.
Starting
on August 28, 2006, USCIS began accepting Premium Processing requests for
form I-140 petitions involving one of two employment-based immigration categories
within the employment-based preference. Those categories are:
1)
EB-3
Professionals, i.e. immigrant workers with bachelor degrees who are
members of the professions, and
2)
EB-3
Skilled Workers, i.e. immigrant workers capable of performing skilled
labor requiring at least two years of education, training or
experience.
Employers
file for both categories using Form I-140 - Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. Premium Processing is not available to “other workers” in the
EB-3 category for jobs that do not require two years of education, training
or experience.
Under
the Premium Processing Service, USCIS guarantees petitioners that, for a
$1,000 processing fee, it will issue either an approval notice, or where
appropriate, a notice of intent to deny, a Request For Evidence (RFE), or
open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, within 15 calendar
days of receipt.
2. The Advantage of the
Premium Processing Services for Form I-140 Petition
The launch of I-140 petition premium
processing services, limited to EB-3 cases only initially, may induce the
EB-3 professionals to take advantage of the premium processing services for
a number of reasons:
1)
H-1B extension beyond the six-year limit. The services will be particularly
valuable for those who could not file a H-1B extension beyond the six-year
limit, because they started the labor certification application after they
reached five years in H-1B status.
2)
The premium processing of I-140 will help those who need to change
employment after 180 days of I-485 filing. USCIS allows portability of I-140
petition after passage of 180 days after filing of I-485 and the I-140
petition was approved. Launch of the I-140 premium processing services
will help such aliens to achieve the needed change of employment under AC-21
Act.
3)
The premium processing of I-140 will also
assist those aliens who need the retention of their priority date and
transfer to another petition. Under the current law, the priority date of
the employment based immigrant petition can be retained once the I-140
petition is approved and can be transferred to another immigrant petition.
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