Tired of waiting for the Immigration & Naturalization Service (BCIS) to process your case? If so, you can get the BCIS to act faster. How? By paying the BCIS an additional $1,000, the BCIS guarantees that it will process your case in 15 business days. Also, if the BCIS issues a request for additional evidence (RFE) in the course of a premium processing case, the BCIS too guarantees that it will process the RFE within 15 business days from the date the RFE is received. Should the BCIS fail to meet this deadline, it will refund the premium-processing fee.

The Premium Processing Service came into effect to try and combat the enormous backlogs in processing employment-based petitions. In addition, the government also recognized the needs of U.S. employers who had to employ foreign workers quickly but were affected by the lengthy delays in getting petitions approved.

The BCIS began the premium processing program on June 1, 2001. Initially only certain types of non-immigrant visas were eligible for premium processing but the BCIS later included such categories as H-1B, R-1 and TN NAFTA professionals to the premium processing program.

Presently, premium processing only applies to such non-immigrant employment based petitions as E-1, E-2, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3, Q-1, R-1 and TN NAFTA professionals. It is anticipated that by the spring of 2002, new legislation will make such immigrant based petitions as I-140’s and concurrent I-140/I-485 petitions eligible for premium processing.

The request for premium processing must either be filed together with the petition or can even be filed at a later date to speed up a case that is already pending. Premium processing benefits employers who need to hire foreign workers in a rush, and benefits the beneficiary by allowing the recipient to work sooner. So, if you need your petition approved in a hurry, premium processing is the way to go.