6/15/2006

USCIS designated I-140, EB-Based I-539, EB-Based I-765 for premium processing services, these legal proceedings to be eligible for the premium processing services. Unlike some previous information released through other sources, this designation does not indicate that the USCIS will suspend or terminate the concurrent I-140/I-485 filing. Good news. 

USCIS also released another rule to inform the customers of the premium processing services that the services will be managed and operated flexibly and the USCIS will use its website to notify the public of the dates of availability of premium processing services. 

This interim rule amends Department of Homeland Security regulations to change the process whereby U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will notify the public of the dates and conditions for Premium Processing Service of designated employment-based petitions and applications. This interim rule also clarifies that notices announcing the designation of petitions and applications for Premium Processing Service will identify the individual classifications within each designated petition or application that will be eligible for premium processing.

USCIS federal notices of designation of certain types of employment-based proceedings for the extended Premium Processing Services have led some readers that the USCIS has started accepting the Premium Processing Request for these three types of cases from today. However, people will easily learn from these federal register publications that the availability of the services at a given time is supposed to be made public via the USCIS website, and until such notice is published or announced on the USCIS, the Premium Processing Services will not be available for these three types of proceedings.