USCIS has announced that starting April 3, 2017, they will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B petitions. Premium processing refers to an expedited process, for an additional fee, for adjudicating petitions within 15 days. Regularly-filed petitions can take more than four months.
The following is from the USCIS announcement:
"Starting April 3, 2017, USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B petitions. This suspension may last up to 6 months. While H-1B premium processing is suspended, petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker which requests the H-1B nonimmigrant classification. We will notify the public before resuming premium processing for H-1B petitions.
Who Is Affected
The temporary suspension applies to all H-1B petitions filed on or after April 3, 2017. Since FY18 cap-subject H-1B petitions cannot be filed before April 3, 2017, this suspension will apply to all petitions filed for the FY18 H-1B regular cap and master’s advanced degree cap exemption (the “master’s cap”). The suspension also applies to petitions that may be cap-exempt.
Read More
Here is the USCIS announcement in its entirety.
