U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin premium processing all of this year’s H-1B cap cases on May 12, 2016.  This includes H-1B cases filed under the 20,000 U.S. Master’s degree exemption, and the regular 65,000 H-1B cap.

Most, if not all, of the receipt notices issued so far for this year’s H-1B cap cases have referenced a 15-day turnaround time from the receipt date – not the May 12 date.  Clients should ignore what is stated in the receipt notices and go with the May 12 processing date.

USCIS notes that cap-exempt H-1B petitions will continue to be processed within 15 calendar days of receipt.