The USCIS processing times have long been somewhat of an inconvenience for individuals. Especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic that caused major delays. Premium Processing was offered as a solution by USCIS, which allowed individuals to receive results to their petition 15 to 45 working days for an extra cost. However, in the employment category, this option was only available to EB1-A (Individuals with Extraordinary Abilities). This caused individuals who petitioned for EB2-NIW (National Interest Waiver) to remain without an option.
Recently, the USCIS announced premium processing starting January 30th 2023, for all previously filed NIW cases and new petitions. Now, individuals who have been waiting to receive results from USCIS, can file a form requesting premium processing for a cost of $2,500. But keep in mind the premium processing could be delayed, if USCIS feels they don’t have the required documents to make a final decision. This means, they will issue an RFE (Request for Evidence) or NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) and after submission, USCIS will take another 15-45 days to give results.
Beginning Jan. 30, 2023, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for:
- All pending E13 multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 NIW petitions; and
- All initial E13 multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 NIW petitions.
This shows great improvement on behalf of the USCIS, as they take action to speed up processing times. In the future, there are hopes that premium processing will also be implemented on other types of non-immigrant visas. However, as of now, this option greatly improves the processing of immigrant visas, and allows individuals petitioning for EB2-NIW to receive earlier results. Read more about processing times here.
