Premium Processing to Include Pending "7^th-Year" H1Bs, Too!
Posted Jun 29, 2001

In some recent articles of the MurthyBulletin, we discussed INS' Premium Processing Service for certain employment-based nonimmigrant petitions. For details on eligibility and procedures for premium processing, please refer to the article entitled, INS Issues Instructions for Premium Processing – June 2001 from the June 8, 2001 MurthyBulletin.

As we mentioned previously, H1Bs and TNs are to be added to the program from July 30, 2001. Some of you have enquired whether the "7^th-year" extensions under AC21 would even be eligible for premium processing. Indeed, ever since AC21 was passed in October 2000, many petitions have been filed for extensions beyond six years, but most INS Service Centers were holding all such cases, awaiting further guidance from the INS. INS Headquarters has issued its initial guidance on June 19, 2001, now enabling these petitions to be adjudicated. That guidance is described in a NewsFlash sent out by our Firm and also posted at our website. (For more information on the requirements for extending the H1B beyond 6 years in certain instances, see Overview: H1B Visas (Part III) - 6-year Limit, Portability, Quotas and More from our January 26, 2001 MurthyBulletin.)

In a session at the AILA Annual Conference on Immigration Law in June 2001 in Boston, senior INS officials including William R. Yates, Executive Deputy Associate Commissioner, Immigration Services Division; Fujie Ohata, Associate Commissioner, Service Center Operations; and Paul Novak, Director of VSC, confirmed that the 7^th-year H1Bs will be included in the premium program. Since Premium Processing can be requested even in pending cases, for those 7^th-year extensions that are still pending on July 30, 2001, the premium program can be used to expedite all such cases, if the person or the company requires it.