Leading immigration attorney Carl Shusterman recently hosted a chat on our site on:

Premium Processing:
Paying Your Way to the Head of the Line

Jennifer Wipf: Greetings all. This is Jennifer. I am taking questions to put in queue for when Mr. Shusterman arrives.

Everyone, I am turning moderation on, as Mr. Shusterman is about to join us. For new questions, simply send me a private message :)

Ok, Mr. Shusterman is with us now. Please remember, this advice is of a general nature and should not be construed as legal advice.

Carl Shusterman: Good evening everyone. Last Friday on June 1st, the INS published regulations implementing the new premium processing program. We immediately established a section on our website entitled, Shusterman "Premium Processing Service: A Complete Guide" at http://shusterman.com/toc-premium.html. This page contains the premium processing law, the regulations, a downloadable version of Form I-907 and information from the Immigration Service and from me summarizing how the program works and how to make use of it. We will continue to post updates regarding this program on this page as they are made available. I look forward to answering your questions tonight.

Question #1: How much faster will premium processing make things go, and for how much more money?

Carl Shusterman: The Premium processing program will guarantee that the INS will turn around certain specified petitions and applications within 15 calendar days, or will refund the money if it is unable to do so. The additional filing fee for these types of applications is $1,000.

Question # 2: If INS does not meet it's obligation of the 15 days - say, how long will it take them to refund the grand? Hopefully, not 5yrs. And if so, will it accrue interest?

Carl Shusterman: The INS regulations make no mention of how fast the Premium Processing fee will be refunded if the agency is unable to perform its obligation within 15 days. Neither do the regulations state that interest will be paid on any refunded fees. Since today is only the seventh day of the program, it is too early for us to have any experience regarding refunded checks. I suspect that since the object of this program is to expedite the processing of certain petitions and applications, and also to raise money for the INS, the agency will try its utmost to meet the 15 day deadline. I do not expect that there will be a lot of refund checks issued.

Question #3: Let us say we paid $1000 for Premium Processing and the clock runs out for 15 days. Yes, we get back $1000 but what happens to our application?

Carl Shusterman: The INS regulations states that such applications will continue to be treated in an expeditious manner.

Question #4: What happens if I don't get premium processing? Will my application take even longer now?

Carl Shusterman: The idea behind premium processing is that each $1000 check will be placed in a special trust fund to allow INS to hire more officers and reduce backlog among all applications. We will be monitoring this situation very closely and will report on the results in a future issue of our free monthly e-mail newsletter, Shusterman's Immigration Update. At the moment, there are nine types of non-immigrant categories which are eligible for premium processing. They are as follows:

1) E-1 Treaty Traders
2) E-2 Treaty Investors
3) H-2A Agricultural Workers
4) H-2B Temporary Workers
5) H-3 Trainees
6) L-1 Intracompany Transferees
7) O-1/O-2 Persons of Extraordinary Ability
8) P Athletes and Entertainers
9) Q International Cultural Exchange Visitors

The INS regulations have announced that as of July 30, 2001, the following additional non-immigrant categories will be included in the premium processing program:

1) H-1B Workers
2) R Religious Workers
3) TN (Trade NAFTA) Professionals

Eventually, we hope that immigrant petitions like form I-140 will be included in the premium processing program. For a detailed summary of each of the above categories, see: http://shusterman.com/premium2.html.

Question #5: Is the 15 days for an approval notice or the issuance of a card or visa?

Carl Shusterman: The 15 days is for INS to issue one of the following documents:

1) Notice of approval
2) Notice of Intent to Deny
3) Request for Evidence
4) Notice of Investigation for Fraud or Misrepresentation

The 15 day clock begins to run on the day that the INS physically receives the petition and ends on the day that the INS issues one of the above notices or requests. Again, see: http://shusterman.com/premium2.html

Question #6: Is it possible to move present regular H1-B application to premium process by paying 1000 more dollars or should we have to file a separate application for premium processing?

Carl Shusterman: As I previously stated, H-1B petitions will not be eligible for premium processing service until July 30th, 2001. As is the case with all of the other I-129B petitions, in order to be eligible for premium processing service, the petition must be accompanied by Form I-907, A Request for Premium Processing Service, and a separate check for $1,000. The form I-907 is available for downloading at http://shusterman.com/toc-premium.html and at: http://shusterman.com/immforms.html. The instructions to Form I-907 specify particular post office boxes at each of the four INS service centers where premium processing applications must be mailed. They also specify special phone numbers for premium processing at the four service centers. It is a good idea to mark the outside of your envelope that you want your petition to be processed under the premium processing program.

Question #7: Is the future employee allowed to pay the 1000 dollars ??

Carl Shusterman: Yes.

Question #8: Is this a permanent thing, or a temporary one like the 245(i) come back?

Carl Shusterman: Permanent.

Question #9: If I want premium processing, do I have to pay for it for every single particular application, or does all my paperwork get lumped together as a package with respect to this fee?

Carl Shusterman: You must pay $1000 in addition to the regular INS filing fees to qualify for premium processing service. Since I don't imagine anyone would be filing for 2 or more petitions on the above list simultaneously, you would only have to pay the $1000 fee once. However, if for some reason,you decided to file two separate non-immigrant petitions say, as an O-1 and an L-1 at the same time, you would have to enclose $1000 with each petition in order for both of them to receive premium processing service. Also, if your employer filed a petition under one of the listed categories and then later applied for a change of status by filing a second petition, you would need to pay $1000 for each petition if you wanted both to be considered under the premium processing program.

Question #10: Can an RN who's out of status for 5 years apply for this premium processing?

Carl Shusterman: There is no temporary visa category for a staff RN at the present time so you would be out of luck. :( 

However, see http://shusterman.com/photo13.html for a preview of a subject that I will address in next week's issue of Shusterman's Immigration Update, that is my testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration in Washington D.C. regarding the need for a temporary worker program for registered nurses. Also, since Section 245(i) will no doubt be extended in the near future, you should consider having your employer file an immigrant petition on your behalf.

Question #11: Can we send the application 2 or 3 days before July 30 for H1-B?

Carl Shusterman: No, if somebody's application is already filed under regular processing, is it possible to move that to premium processing by paying $1000.  If you want to request Premium Processing Service on a pending petition, you can file Form I-907 together with a check for $1000 to the INS Service Center where your petition is pending. Be sure to include a copy of Form I-797, Notice of Action, showing that the INS has received the initial petition. Once the INS has received your request for Premium processing, the pending petition will be acted on within 15 calendar days.

Question #12: Is there a guaranteed minimum time for applications done with premium processing after the initial notice is sent from INS?

Carl Shusterman: No, but there is a maximum time, 15 days.

I want to thank everyone who participated in this chat for your excellent questions. I believe that all significant areas of the premium processing system were discussed during the past hour. I would just like to add on a more philosophical note, that in the last week, I did interviews concerning this program with at least a dozen major newspapers across the United States and each reporter asked me the same thing: They were not so much concerned with the practicalities of using this program, which was the subject of our chat tonight, but with the fairness of having a premium processing program at all. I replied that I have both a hope and a fear as regards to the Premium Processing Program. I hope that the funds raised by this program will be used to speed the applications of all persons applying for immigration benefits, rich or poor, and will not be diverted to enforcement purposes. My fear, however, is that the Premium Processing Program may create a permanent two tiered system where those who pay the $1000 fee will get deluxe service while those who do not will continue to wait months or even years while their applications are processed at a snail's pace. Only time will tell. We will do our best to keep you updated as to the actual effects of the Premium Processing Program. Thank you for joining us tonight.

Jennifer Wipf: Thank you Carl! Good night.

All Shusterman Chats

Articles Archive

Grab an immigration chat buddy!

  See What's Going on in Our Help/Support Forum: