On March 3, 2017, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will suspend premium processing of all H-1B petitions filed on or after April 3, 2017. The suspension may last up to six months. The premium processing program provides for petition processing within 15 days for an additional fee of $1,225.

The premium processing suspension applies to all petitions requesting H-1B status, including:

Petitions for new H-1B visas in FY2018 may be filed (received by USCIS) between Monday, April 3, 2017 and Friday, April 7, 2017. If USCIS does not receive enough qualifying H-1B petitions to satisfy the H-1B cap during the filing period, it will continue to accept H-1B petitions until the cap is exhausted. For more information, see Legal Update, H-1B Cap Season for FY2018 Begins April 3rd.

Petitions filed without premium processing typically take several months to process. In extraordinary cases, employers may request that USCIS expedite processing of a petition without the premium processing request. For more information, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Processing Times and USCIS: Expedite Criteria.

Practical Law has a collection of resources to help employers develop strategies for preparing and filing H-1B petitions for their foreign workers. For more information and links to these resources, see The H-1B Visa Classification Toolkit.

Employers that are unable to file an H-1B petition, or are unsuccessful in obtaining H-1B status for their foreign workers, may find alternative nonimmigrant visa status options in Practical Law's Employer Options When H-1B Visas Are Not Available Checklist.