Premium Processing Service May Be Expanded to Many Additional Types of Cases
Premium Processing is the service provided by the USCIS where the applicant of certain types of visas can get a response from the USCIS within 15 business days. Given our track record, we usually advise clients not to pay the extra fee but for those with extremely tight deadlines and strong cases, it is a useful option. Note that the premium processing fee has now gone up to $2,500 for O-1 cases.
Currently, only certain types of non-immigrant visa classifications are eligible for premium processing, including tE-1, E-2, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, LZ (blanket L-1), O-1, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3, Q-1, R-1, TN-1 and TN-2, and certain immigrant visa applications.
If a pending bill is approved, the Premium Processing service would be extended to the following visa types:
The National Interest Waiver (“NIW”) Green Card is a lesser known option than the Extraordinary Ability Green Card. Both these classifications allow the applicant to “self-petition” and therefore no employer sponsorship is required. This makes them both extremely attractive options. Our firm has a good success rate with NIW cases, which are currently not eligible for premium processing and we hope that will change. Due to the extremely stringent standards with which the Extraordinary Ability Green Cards have been adjudicated over the past few years, the National Interest Waiver should be seriously considered.
The NIW processing times vary from 6-12 months We just had two cases approved – one for Japanese creative director, jewelry designer, and small business owner, Tatsuye Otake, who heads up the boutique studio, 8.6.4 Design (www.864.com), and another for the Cultural Representative of Veracruz and Mexican performer, Rafael Reyes (www.rafareyes.com). We also had an EB-1 approved for the landscape designer, Yadan Luo, from Olin Studio (www.theolinstudio.com). They were all approved without a Request for Evidence.
PERM/Labor Certification
The labor certification processing times and results have been favorable. We recently got fairly swift labor certifications for an architectural designer from Peru and for an Italian Communications Specialist from Italy. The former holds an O-1B visa obtained by our office and the latter holds an H-1B visa obtained by our office. Both PERM cases were approved in around 4 months.
Waiver of In-Person Interviews for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Cases
Due to COVID-19, we have found that all of our employment -based cases were approved without having to attend the usual in-person interview at the District Offices. Needless to say, this has been a huge relief for our clients, who were thrilled to get their Green Cards in the mail.
| Country | Profession | Date Filed | Date Case Approved | RFE? | PP? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korea
China Japan Mexico Canada |
Architect
Landscape Designer Creative Director Dancer/Choreographer Dancer/Choreographer |
01/08/20
09/24/19 09/03/19 02/27/20 6/6/19 |
11/16/20
10/31/20 10/19/20 10/20/20 02/10/20 |
No
No No No Yes |
No
No No No No |
| Japan | Lighting Designer | 7/10/19 | 25/3/20 | No | No |
| Country | Profession | Date Filed | Date Case Approved | RFE? | PP? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Data Scientist and Researcher | 5/16/18 | 1/24/19 | No | No |
| Australia | Multidisciplinary artist | 5/8/18 | 2/4/19 | No | No |
| Italy | Choreographer | 5/21/18 | 5/28/19 | Yes | No |
| Korea | Architect | 8/7/18 | 2/20/19 | No | No |
| Japan | Lighting designer | 10/2/18 | 3/25/19 | No | No |
| Korea | Dancer/Choreographer | 6/15/18 | 4/27/19 | No | No |
| Taiwan | Lighting designer | 11/26/18 | 6/3/19 | No | No |
| Taiwan | Creative Director | 8/15/18 | 6/25/19 | Yes | No |
| France | Design Director | 12/12/18 | 7/16/19 | No | No |
| Country | Type of artist | Date Filed | Date Case Approved | RFE? | PP? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Arts Consultant | December 14, 2017 | December 27, 2017 | No | Yes |
| Japan | Jewelry Designer | March 20, 2018 | March 27, 2018 | No | Yes |
| Australia | Graphic Designer | May 8, 2017 | April 5, 2018 | Yes | No |
| Japan | Lighting Designer | October 20, 2018 | April 30, 2018 | No | No |
| Japan | Production Manager | December 25, 2017 | May 21, 2018 | No | No |
| Japan | Musician | January 8, 2018 | June 6, 2018 | No | No |
| Japan | Digital Composer | March 20, 2018 | August 29, 2018 | No | No |