Continuing Appropriations Act Authorizes USCIS to Raise Premium Processing Fees and Expand Availability
Published on 12 Oct 2020
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USA (National/Federal)
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by Practical Law Labor & Employment
PRACTICAL LAW
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12 Oct 2020
President Trump signed into law H.R. 8337, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (CAA), which gives US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) authority to expand the availability of premium processing and raise the fees to access premium processing services.
On October 1, 2020, President Trump signed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (H.R. 8337) (CAA) into law.
The CAA provides fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations to federal agencies for continuing projects and activities of the federal government through December 11, 2020, extending temporarily authorized immigration programs such as E-Verify.
In addition, CAA section 4102, Expansion of Premium Processing, amends section 286(u) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 USC § 1356(u)) by:
Authorizing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to expand the premium processing program, allowing it to establish and collect a premium fee for the following immigration benefit types:
employment-based nonimmigrant petitions (all of which are encompassed by the current premium processing program) and associated applications for dependents of the beneficiaries of such petitions;
employment-based immigrant petitions filed by or on behalf of aliens described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 203(b) (including an expansion to the multinational executive or manager classification under INA section 203(b)(1)(C) (8 USC § 1153(b)(1)(C)) and national interest waiver under INA section 203(b)(2) (8 USC § 1153(b)(2)), petition types that are not currently included in the premium processing program);
applications to change or extend nonimmigrant status, including extensions of or changes to F, J, or M nonimmigrant status;
applications for employment authorization documents (EADs); and
any other immigration benefit the DHS finds appropriate for premium processing.
Increasing the premium processing service fee to $2,500, except for certain classifications of immigration benefits that will be at a lower amount, such as:
Form I-129 petitions for H-2B or R status, capped at $1,500;
Form I-539 applications requesting a change of status to F, J, or M status, capped at $1,750;
Form I-539 applications requesting a change or extension of status for dependents of principal beneficiaries in or seeking a change to E, H, L, O, P, or R nonimmigrant status, capped at $1,750; and
Form I-765 EAD applications, capped at $1,500.
With regard to new benefit requests, allowing USCIS to set specific fees and processing times for the expanded premium processing services following USCIS's engagement in rulemaking processes and publication of regulations, although DHS may set a fee if it is consistent with the following:
for a petition for classification under INA section 203(b)(1)(C) (8 USC § 1153(b)(1)(C)) or a petition for classification under INA section 203(b)(2) involving a waiver under section 203(b)(2)(B) (8 USC § 1153(b)(2)), the fee is set no higher than $2,500 and the required processing timeframe is no more than 45 days;
for an application under INA section 248 (8 USC § 1258) to change status to F, J, or M nonimmigrant status, the fee is set no higher than $1,750 and the required processing timeframe is no more than 30 days; and
for an application under INA section 248 (8 USC § 1258) to change status to be classified as a dependent of an E, H, L, O, P, or R nonimmigrant or to extend such classification, the fee is set no higher than $1,750 and the required processing timeframe is no more than 30 days.
(Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, PL 116-159, 134 Stat. 709 (October 1, 2020).)
The practical implications of the implementation of this new law are that premium processing will become available to a much wider group of petitions and applications; however, each premium processing request could be considerably more costly. Before the new law is implemented, USCIS will be required to engage in rulemaking processes.
End of Document
Resource ID w-027-8402Document Type Legal update: archive
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