Beginning on October 19, 2015, there will be new direct filing addresses for Form I-140 Immigrant Petitions submitted with a Form I-907 Request for Premium Processing Service if the worksite location is in any of the following states:
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS or Immigration Service) announced on October 7, 2015, that starting on October 19, 2015, these forms should be filed with the Nebraska Service Center as follows:
Regular Mail: Premium Processing USCIS Nebraska Service Center P.O. Box 87103 Lincoln, NE 68501-7103
or
Express Delivery: Premium Processing USCIS Nebraska Service Center 850 S. Street Lincoln, NE 68508
Seeking Premium Processing should mean that the Immigration Service will take action on the I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker within 15 calendar days or the $1,225.00 Premium Processing fee will be refunded.
Only certain I-140 Immigrant Petition types are currently eligible for Premium Processing, including: EB-1 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability; EB-1 Outstanding Professors and Researchers; EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability Not Seeking a National Interest Waiver; and EB-3 Workers Other Than Skilled Workers and Professionals; and if designated as available and subject to certain conditions, EB-3 Skilled Workers and EB-3 Professionals. Premium processing is not available for EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers nor for EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability Seeking a National Interest Waiver. See http://www.uscis.gov/forms/how-do-i-use-premium-processing-service.
According to USCIS’s October 7, 2015, announcement, in order to upgrade a pending I-140 Immigrant Petition to Premium Processing, the Form I-907 should be sent to the service center that has the pending Form I-140.
Note that only an employer may file a Premium Processing request for an I-140 Immigrant Petition that requires an employer as the petitioner. The beneficiary of an Immigrant Petition may, however, seek Premium Processing for a self-petition (that is, where the petitioner and beneficiary are the same). Either party may pay the $1,225.00 Premium Processing filing fee.
USCIS announced that is it making the address change in order to rebalance the workload distribution between the Texas Service Center and the Nebraska Service Center.
______________________
Ms. Wadhwani is a partner in the Immigration Practice Group at Fox Rothschild LLP. She may be reached at cwadhwani@foxrothschild.com.