Premium processing of certain immigration cases began in the early part of the last decade.
For many years the fee was $1000 until it finally was increased to $1225.
- The premium processing service is limited to certain employment based cases.
- Premium processing virtually guarantees a decision or request for evidence on visa petitions within 15 days or less.
- It is popular for H, L, E, O, P, TN and Q temporary work visas as well as the majority of petitions for alien workers (Form I-140) who seek green cards.
When the category of premium processing first arrived in 2001, there were those who shook their heads and said “Government Extortion.”
But the fact is for little more than 3 dollars a day over one year, you can take advantage of the fast turnaround.
And that’s not all.
Premium processing is also useful for its officers’ frequent responsiveness to a variety of issues.
Something as simple as an Immigration error in misspelling a name which might otherwise cause unreasonable delays can often be fixed by the premium processing unit on the cases that its adjudicators handle.
Premium processing will use fax, email and telephone to communicate quickly on actively pending matters.
1. Many of you might ask, “Why does the premium processing service only work for employment based cases?”
Good question. It would be nice to use a 15 day approval to speed up family immigration.
However, premium processing is not available in any other categories besides employment based petitions.
2. Others simply want to know how to use premium processing.
The short answer is file Form I-907 with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
My only complaint with the premium processing system is that it should be available for more types of cases.
There are many benefits to the I-907.
The government makes a fortune on these cases, which helps the economy.
Immigrants who might otherwise be forced to wait longer to receive work visas can get on the job faster which is good for everybody: employers, employees and those they serve.
