EIG Summary | Expansion Of Premium Processing Under H.R. 8337 ...

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EIG Summary | Expansion of Premium Processing Under H.R. 8337 the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act

• October 2, 2020

On September 30, 2020, the President signed H.R. 8337 the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act.  While USCIS has not decided when the Act will go into effect, it is important to understand its implications.

The Act increases the fee of all petitions that were already eligible for premium processing on or before August 1, 2020 to $2,500.00 from $1,440.00, except for H-2B or R-1 petitions.  The Act also expands premium processing by authorizing it to be provided to those filing employment-based nonimmigrant petitions and their dependents’ applications, those filing Form I-140 petitions, Form I-539 applications, Form I-765 applications, and any other immigration benefit type deemed appropriate by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

The Act does not set the specific premium processing fees for these categories but sets a cap for individual categories (please see the below chart).  It also dictates the maximum required processing timeframe for the above-mentioned applications and petitions.  For most, it may not exceed 30 days, but it cannot exceed 45 days for EB-1 petitions for Multinational Managers and Executives or EB-2 national interest waiver petitions.  Finally, the Act requires that within 180 days of its enactment, the Secretary must devise a five-year plan to establish electronic filing procedures for all applications and benefits, accept electronic payment for all filing fees at all locations, and issue all correspondence electronically.

The chart below shows the guidelines for the Secretary in setting the premium processing fees and timeframes.

* The processing timeframes above won’t commence until all prerequisites for adjudication are received by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Erickson Immigration Group will continue to send updates as more news is available. If you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions, please contact your employer or EIG attorney.

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