U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will resume its premium processing service for H-1B extension of stay petitions (this includes H-1B amendments and change of employer petitions requesting an extension of stay).  Any request for premium processing for H-1B extension of stay petitions received by USCIS before July 13, 2015, will be rejected and returned to the petitioner or its representative.  USCIS announced previously that its premium processing service would be suspended until July 27, 2015.  USCIS’ decision to resume premium processing 14 days earlier than initially planned is good news for employers and H-1B workers, particularly those H-1B workers living in states whose driver’s licenses were dependent on them presenting a final H-1B approval notice.

USCIS suspended premium processing temporarily to allow USCIS to adjudicate the anticipated increase in volume of Employment Authorization Applications (EADs) filed by H-4 dependent spouses following the final rule going in effect on May 26, 2015. USCIS has determined that it now has sufficient resources in place to process H-4 dependent spouse EADs and has decided to resume its premium processing service for H-1B extension of stay petitions starting July 13, 2015.