Premium Processing Protocol

The following protocol is subject to change, as government regulations, federal clearance (NOAA) timelines, export control timelines, and policies change.

Definition: Premium Processing is expedited processing of a petition/application that an employer or individual files with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Because processing times at USCIS can be extensive sometimes, CIRES will fund premium processing fees only when necessitated by a business need, and the primary benefit is to CIRES. Requests made primarily for the employee’s personal benefit are the responsibility of the employee.

• H-1B premium processing takes 15 days
• OPT premium processing takes 30 days
• J-1 premium processing takes 30 days

(The timelines above only apply to the processing time at USCIS, and not the duration of the entire process for gaining these statuses.)

CIRES will pay for premium processing for some types of non-immigrant statuses when there is a business need.

CIRES considers the following as business needs:

• New Hires: CIRES needs an employee to start work by a certain date; 
• International Research Travel: CIRES will fund premium processing when it is necessary to support mission-critical international travel related to research, field work, conference presentations, or other official CIRES business. Requests associated solely with personal travel or convenience are the responsibility of the employee. The employee should have an approved travel request on file; 
• Work Status: Employee will lose their ability to work if USCIS has not approved the petition within a certain timeframe.

Types of Common Statuses at CIRES and Who Pays for Premium Processing:

• OPT and STEM Extension OPT: The employee always pays, as the application is the individual’s application.
• H-1B Change of Status: CIRES pays if there is a business need, otherwise the employee pays.
• H-1B Extension: CIRES pays if there is a business need, otherwise the employee pays.
• New H-1B: CIRES always pays, as the hiring units cannot wait for many months for an employee to begin work.
• J-1 Change of Status: The employee always pays, as the I-539 is a form completed by an individual and sent directly to USCIS.  A change to J-1 status is rare – An example might be if someone is on OPT and pursues a change to J-1.
• J-1 Extension: Not needed, as USCIS is not involved and ISSS creates a new DS-2019 extending the stay. CIRES has not heard whether or not this process for extension will change based on the Final Rule Eliminating Duration of Status for Students and Scholars in F-1 and J-1 Status.  We will update once ISSS has provided more information about this rule.

Premium Processing Fees:

• H-1B: $2,965
• OPT:   $1,780
• J-1: $2,075

Timelines:

• OPT: 
  • An employee should request premium processing for OPT if they and the CIRES unit want the employee to start on a certain date and the OPT normal processing time is too long.  The current regular processing time is 3.5 months
• H-1B
  • NEW H-1Bs: For a new H-1B, CIRES will pay for premium processing immediately, as a new employee cannot work until the change to H-1B is approved
  • EXTENSION H-1Bs: For an extension H-1B, CIRES will wait until 8 weeks before the 240 days beyond the current end date before we request premium processing.
  • **EXCEPTION – For people in NOAA, we should start 5 months before the 240 days due to NOAA clearance processing.
• Regular H-1B current processing time once the petition reaches USCIS: 
  • For change of status – 9 months’ processing time.
  • For extension – 10.5 months’ processing time.
• J-1
  • J-1 CHANGE OF STATUS: An employee should begin the payment process of J-1 premium processing as soon as there is a need, as a change of status to J-1 takes 7 months approximately. A person cannot work while a change of status is pending.

Main Statuses We Work with at CIRES:

• F-1, OPT.  Optional Practical Training (OPT) is work permission that an F-1 student can apply for before they graduate, and it is effective after they graduate.  OPT is granted by USCIS and the duration is 12 months initially and for work in the student’s field of study.  If the employee earned their degree in one of the STEM fields, they can apply for the OPT STEM extension, with a duration of another 24 months.
  • If their STEM extension is pending and they applied for it before their first OPT expired,  the employee can work up to 180 days after the first OPT end date if they have the receipt notice for their OPT STEM extension.
• J-1 Status. J-1 status is exchange visitor status. This status is mainly for non-immigrants who come to the United States for a short period of time. CIRES invites J-1 Research Scholars or J-1 Short-Term Scholars, and sometimes J-1 Student Interns. 
• Time Limitations:
• J-1 Research Scholar: 5 years
• J-1 Short-Term Scholar: 6 months
• J-1 Student Intern: 12 months
• H-1B Status.  H-1B status is Temporary Worker status for work that is in a specialized occupation.  A person can have H-1b status for up to 6 years.  After that, they have to change status (usually they become permanent residents) or leave the U.S.  If they are away from the U.S. for one year, they can return for another 6 years of H-1B status
• EAD card. A few employees have an EAD card that isn’t associated with OPT.  These employees acquired EAD cards based on having a permanent residency petition in progress. 

If you have any questions regarding the Premium Processing Protocol, please contact:

CIRES HR – cireshr@colorado.edu 

Thank you,

CIRES Human Resources Team