Premium Processing of EB3 I-140s Starts Aug 28, 2006
Posted Aug 18, 2006
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The USCIS announced on August 18, 2006 that Premium Processing will be available for most employment-based, third preference (EB3) I-140 immigrant petitions as of August 28, 2006. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers were advised that premium processing would be expanding to I-140 petitions in our May 26, 2006 article, Premium Processing to Expand: I-140s; I-539s; I-765s.
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The premium processing procedure provides for expediting case processing for an additional $1000 USCIS processing fee. Such cases are supposed to be reviewed by the USCIS within fifteen (15) calendar days and, if a Request for Evidence (RFE) is issued, the USCIS has another fifteen days to review and make a decision once the RFE response has been received.
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The expansion of premium processing to I-140 immigrant petitions, by the employer for an employee, is currently limited to EB3 cases filed under either the professional or skilled worker grouping. It is not available for EB3 "other workers." The notice was silent with respect to Schedule A cases, but these fall under the qualifying EB3 categories. It appears that Schedule A cases would be eligible, therefore.
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For more information on the pros and cons of I-140 premium processing, review our July 28, 2006 article, Detailed Analysis of Premium Processing of I-140s, also available on MurthyDotCom.