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Beginning Monday, June 1, 2015 USCIS will accept only the new version (edition date: 01/29/2015) of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. The edition date is printed at the bottom of every page. USCIS will reject previous editions of this form if you submit them on or after June 1.

USCIS issued the new version on May 1 and have continued to accept old versions during the transition period, which ends Sunday, May 31

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during June. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status.  Allocations were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by May 11th. 

Beginning May 18, USCIS will accept only the new version (edition date: 03/04/2015) of Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative.

Starting May 26, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions until July 27, 2015. During this time frame, petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting an extension of the stay for an H-1B nonimmigrant. USCIS will continue to premium process H-1B Extension of Stay petitions filed with Form I-907 premium requests prior to May 26, 2015.

USCIS has published information to help eligible H-4 dependent spouses who want to apply for employment authorization under the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses final rule.

You can view the information on:

On April 9, 2015, USCIS’ Administrative Appeal Office (AAO) issued a precedent decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, which held that employers must file amended H-1B petitions when a new Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA) is required due to a change in the H-1B worker’s worksite location. Specifically, the decision stated:

***Please note that you may not apply for employment authorization under the new H-4 rule until May 26, 2015***

USCIS recently published the revised Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with a 02/13/15, edition date. You can download the revised form and details about who may file and where to file Form I-765 from the USCIS forms page.

The revised Form I-765 contains the eligibility category (c)(26) for certain

REMINDER: Do NOT submit an application for employment authorization (Form I-765) before May 26, 2015. USCIS will not accept a Form I-765 requesting employment authorization based on your H-4 status until the H-4 rule takes effect on May 26, 2015. If you submit a Form I-765 requesting employment authorization on this basis before May 26, 2015, USCIS will reject and return your application with the filing fee. You would then need to re-submit the application on or after May 26, 2015.

This chart shows the average amount of time it takes to receive a decision in a particular type of case after the case file is received by the AAO. Processing times are directly related to the volume of cases received.

AAO Processing Times as of March 1, 2014

USCIS has implemented a new process to receive and adjudicate applications for civil surgeon designation centrally at the National Benefits Center. This process change requires physicians seeking civil surgeon designation to file a formal application at a USCIS Lockbox. Centralizing the civil surgeon application process will:

USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. March 14, 2014 is the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2014.

How We Determine the Final Receipt Date

The final receipt date is when we have received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the statutory limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY 2014. There will not be any carry over spots from the first half to the second half of FY 2014.