US resumes premium processing of H-1B visas after 5 months

Washington: Five months after suspending the premium process of H-1B visas, the US has now resumed the process. The suspension has, however, been revoked subject to a limit mandated by the US Congress.

The US had suspended the process in April to check the rush of work visas. Notably, the work visa is quite popular among Indian techies.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees.

The premium processing for H-1B visa petitions was resumed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Sunday.

The FY 2018 cap has been set at 65,000. Premium processing has also been resumed for the annual 20,000 additional petitions that are set aside to hire workers with a US higher educational degree, it said.

When a petitioner requests the agency's premium processing service, USCIS guarantees a 15-day processing time.

According to USCIS, "If the 15- calendar day processing time is not met, the agency will refund the petitioner's premium processing service fee and continue with expedited processing of the application".

With PTI inputs