USCIS had suspended the premium processing facility of all H-1B petitions in March.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Monday announced that it has resumed the premium processing all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year year (FY) 2018 cap.
The FY 2018 cap has been set at 65,000 visas.
Premium processing has also resumed for the annual 20,000 additional petitions that are set aside to hire workers with a U.S. master’s degree or higher educational degree.
In March, USCIS announced that it is suspending the premium processing facility of all H-1B petitions.
Earlier this year, USCIS had resumed the premium processing of H-1B petitions filed on behalf of physicians under the Conrad 30 waiver program as well as interested government agency waivers and for certain H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap.
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USCIS also announced that the premium processing remains temporarily suspended for all other H-1B petitions, such as extensions of stay.
The agency added that it will resume premium processing for all other remaining H‑1B petitions not subject to the FY 2018 cap, as workloads permit.
However, remaining petitioners may submit a request to expedite their application if they meet the specific agency criteria. USCIS reviews all expedite requests on a case-by-case basis, and requests are granted at the discretion of the office leadership.
In July, USCIS resumed the premium processing of H-1B visas for medical doctors under the Conrad 30 Waiver program.
“If the 15-calendar day processing time is not met, the agency will refund the petitioner’s premium processing service fee and continue with the expedited processing of the application,” the USCIS said.
H-1B visa is one of the most opted visas in the US that provide skilled workers from foreign countries to work in a wide range of specialty occupations, including information technology, academic research, and accounting.