Effective June 29, 2009, USCIS resumed Premium Processing Service for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The Premium Processing program guarantees 15-day review and adjudication of cases, in exchange for a $1,000 Premium Processing fee. USCIS had suspended the program in July of 2007 because it believed that it could not keep up with an expected increase in employment-based petitions.
USCIS will accept requests for Premium Processing in connection with most, but not all, I-140 petitions. These include petitions for EB-1 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability, EB-1 Outstanding Professors and Researchers, EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability (but not those seeking a “national interest waiver”), EB-3 Professionals, EB-3 Skilled Workers, and EB-3 “other workers.” USCIS will not accept Premium Processing requests for EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers or for EB-2 applicants seeking a national interest waiver.
USCIS and FBI finally eliminate name check backlog
On June 22, 2009, USCIS announced that it had finally eliminated the backlog in conducting security checks, known as “name checks,” on individuals applying for permanent residence. USCIS works with the FBI to conduct these name checks, which are used to determine whether green card applicants have criminal records and are therefore potentially ineligible for green cards. In the past, the FBI conducted most of these name checks in a timely manner. However, some of them were delayed, often for up to a year or more. The delayed cases could not be finalized, and those applicants simply had to wait (and wait and wait) for a final decision.
We are cautiously optimistic that USCIS and the FBI will continue to process name checks in a timely, efficient manner.
This Immigration Bulletin is not intended as a substitute for professional legal advice.
Debra R. Shpigler is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.