Over the last few years, premium processing – the expedited processing service available for certain U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) petitions and applications – has undergone several changes. Premium processing is now available for some student applications, and different fees and timeframes apply to different petition and application types. Historically, upon filing an eligible petition or application with the required fee, the petitioner or applicant would receive an email receipt within a few business days, and the petition or application would be adjudicated within the applicable timeframe. However, over the past year – and with increasing frequency in recent months – petitioners and applicants report that certain premium processing norms have shifted, even as the premium processing fee has increased and the standard adjudication timeframe changed from 15 calendar days to 15 business days.

Recent Developments

Email receipt notices are no longer consistently arriving within one to two business days. In some cases, they may take a full week to arrive, and when they do, they might reflect a receipt date that is several days after the filing’s delivery date. That receipt date is also subject to change. Petitioners and applicants can monitor the USCIS online case status portal throughout the adjudication period, as the start date of the mandatory premium processing adjudication period may change.

If a beneficiary holds the nationality of one of the 39 countries currently subject to a travel ban and is subject to the current adjudication pause, USCIS may reject the premium processing request. In those circumstances, the premium processing fee may not be returned at the time of rejection. When an inquiry is made, petitioners and applicants have been advised by the USCIS that the fee may be returned upon completion of the petition’s adjudication. Given the adjudication pause, however, the timing of adjudication is uncertain.

In some cases, a beneficiary or applicant may be subject to additional security review – a process similar to that applied when applying for a visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate. When additional security review is triggered, USCIS may exceed the premium processing adjudication period by several months or more. Status inquiries submitted through the premium processing email channel have received responses indicating that the petition is under review and that a timeframe for adjudication cannot be provided.

Employers and applicants should be aware of these developments when evaluating whether to file with premium processing. Consulting with immigration counsel before making that decision may be beneficial given the factors described above.