On Jan. 12, 2023, USCIS announced its plan to expand premium processing service availability for certain immigrant and non-immigrant benefits in 2023. Beginning Jan. 30, 2023, USCIS will be implementing the final phase of the premium processing expansion for Form I-140 EB-1C multinational executive classification and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) classification. This new expansion phase will apply to initial petitions filed after Jan. 30, 2023, as well as to all previously filed EB-1C and EB-2 NIW petitions currently pending at USCIS. Petitioners who wish to request premium processing service for new or pending EB-1C or EB-2 NIW petitions must file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service with the requisite filing fee of $2,500.

In addition, USCIS will expand the premium processing service for F-1 students seeking OPT or STEM OPT extensions. USCIS has announced that in March 2023, it will expand premium processing service to certain F-1 students applying for OPT and F-1 students applying for STEM OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765 (Application for EAD) at USCIS. In April 2023, USCIS will expand premium processing to all F-1 students seeking OPT and F-1 students applying for STEM OPT extensions who are filing an initial Form I-765. USCIS will provide specific dates for each expansion in February 2023.

USCIS has further announced that it will expand premium processing for certain Form I-539 applications including F-1 and J-1. USCIS anticipates that it will expand premium processing for certain F-1 and J-1 applicants with pending Form I-539 at USCIS in May 2023. USCIS also anticipates that it will expand premium processing for certain F-1 and J-1 applicants filing their first Form I-539 applications in June 2023. USCIS has not provided specific dates for each development and will make additional announcements when it is ready to implement these premium processing expansion phases. 

USCIS’s expansion of premium processing service to additional form types is part of its effort to increase efficiency and reduce burdens to the overall U.S. immigration system. USCIS will adhere to the legislative requirement that the expansion of premium processing service does not result in an increase in processing times for immigration benefit requests not eligible for premium processing or filed under regular processing.

^Law Clerk/JD. Not admitted to the practice of law.

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Photo of Kate Kalmykov Kate Kalmykov

Kate Kalmykov Co-Chairs the Immigration & Compliance Practice. She focuses her practice on business immigration and compliance. She represents clients in a wide-range of employment based immigrant and non-immigrant visa matters including students, trainees, professionals, managers and executives, artists and entertainers, treaty investors

Kate Kalmykov Co-Chairs the Immigration & Compliance Practice. She focuses her practice on business immigration and compliance. She represents clients in a wide-range of employment based immigrant and non-immigrant visa matters including students, trainees, professionals, managers and executives, artists and entertainers, treaty investors and traders, persons of extraordinary ability and immigrant investors.

Kate has deep experience working on EB-5 immigrant investor matters. She regularly works with developers across a variety of industries, as well as private equity funds on developing new projects that qualify for EB-5 investments. This includes creation of new Regional Centers, having projects adopted by existing Regional Centers or through pooled individual EB-5 petitions. For existing Regional Centers, Kate regularly helps to prepare amendment filings, file exemplar petitions, address removal of conditions issues and ensure that they develop an internal program for ongoing compliance with applicable immigration regulations and guidance. She also counsels foreign nationals on obtaining greencards through either individual or Regional Center EB-5 investments, as well as issues related to I-829 Removal of Conditions.

Kate also works with various human resources departments on I-9 employment verification matters as well as H-1B and LCA compliance. She regularly counsels employers on due diligence issues including internal audits and reviews, as well as minimization of exposure and liabilities in government investigations.