US resumes premium processing of H-1B work visas

The US has resumed fast processing of H-1B work visas in all categories subject to Congress-mandated limit, five months after it was suspended temporarily to handle the huge rush of applications for the work visas popular among Indian IT professionals.

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 each year.

Premium processing of H-1B visa was suspended+ in April



to handle huge rush of new petitions.The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing yesterday for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 cap, a media release said.

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.