USCIS Receives Improper I-140 Premium Processing Requests
Posted Aug 01, 2008
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The USCIS Service Center Operations (SCOPS) has reported that the USCIS continues to receive a great many requests for I-140 premium processing that do not meet the criteria to qualify for premium processing. The rejection rate for I-140 premium processing requests is approximately 60 percent as of June / July 2008. This is simply because only limited cases qualify. All others will be rejected by the mailroom. The requirements for I-140 premium processing currently in place were set out in our June 27, 2008 article, Requirements for Premium Processing of I-140 Petitions. However, since the improper filing of the premium processing requests continues to be a problem, this reminder is included to for MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.
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Criteria to Qualify for Premium Processing
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As of this writing, I-140 premium processing is only available to a limited group. It is only available for those foreign nationals who are in the U.S., in the sixth year of H1B status, with sixty days or less remaining in H1B status. Additionally, the foreign national must demonstrate that they are not qualified for a seventh-year extension of the H1B under the rules allowing for one-year extensions, and that they will qualify for a three-year H1B extension if and only if the I-140 is approved. It may be that some people are making requests simply because they do not understand the rules. There may be others who know that they do not qualify under the existing USCIS criteria for premium processing, but hope that the USCIS will accept their I-140s under premium processing and approve it faster.
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Problems with Improper I-140 Premium Requests
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All of the extraneous filings simply waste the time of the USCIS and are counter productive. It is understood that, as of the time of this writing, I-140 processing in general is slow and backlogged. The desire for premium processing is certainly justified, but filing improper requests does not serve to fix this problem. In fact, it simply adds to delays by creating extra work for the USCIS.
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NIWs or Multinational Executive / Managers Not Entitled
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Even before the USCIS suspended I-140 premium processing, certain types of cases were not eligible under the USCIS premium processing criteria. These were I-140 petitions filed requesting National Interest Waiver (NIW) as well as those in the EB1 for Multinational Executive / Manager categories. These categories continue to be ineligible for the faster processing, even if the other legal requirements are satisfied as outlined above in this article regarding the time remaining in H1B status and the other criteria.
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Conclusion
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The suspension and limited reintroduction of I-140 premium processing is simply a matter of a lack of available USCIS resources to provide this service. It is expected that the availability will increase in time, but, obviously, this is a slow process. It may help if the USCIS is not taking up too much time returning improperly filed premium processing requests for the I-140 petition. We at the Murthy Law Firm will continue to update our readers and share valuable information on the important issue of I-140 premium processing.