In this video, we're going to talk about the new legislation that just passed
that essentially will expand the premium processing, the way we can speed up
applications to a variety of applications that were not possible before. Pretty exciting. And I
can't wait to tell you all about it. So, what are you waiting for? I'll see you on the other side.
In this video, we're going to talk about the new legislation that just passed and signed into
law by the President that will essentially expand premium processing, the ability to expedite cases
beyond what's available right now to many more applications, and possibly to all applications
in the future. So, I'm going to talk about that as well. This legislation is called HR 8337
and is now signed into law and it was part of the Appropriations Bill
to fund the government. So, we'll talk about all this and what it means for you. But before that,
if you're here for the first time, make sure to subscribe to our channel, click that bell to be
notified. And also give us a big like so YouTube will be able to share the video, this video, with
more people just like you. My name is Jacob Sapochnick. I’m an immigration attorney
based in San Diego, California. And I'm making these videos every single week to educate and
to inspire you to learn about immigration. I can help clients in all 50 states. And I'm excited to
be here today to provide you this information. So, let's talk about expansion of premium processing,
HR 8337, and what it means for you. So HR 8337 passed both the House and the Senate. And it was
signed into law by the President. And this bill would allow the government to raise the fees,
which is… this is much-needed money that they need to, I guess, keep their operations but it's also
going to benefit us, there is training that is helping our clients to get results faster. And
for you, guys, who are watching to make sure you get your applications moving faster, specifically,
one of those things that is going to be able to move faster, or application for work permits. As
you know, we couldn't expedite work permits, and we couldn’t expedite EADs, you just file it, and
we have to wait for months and months. And under this, it's going to allow us to file a specific
form and pay an additional fee and we’ve covered that as well. That will allow us to expedite the
application for a work permit which is going to obviously make things much easier for people that
are just sitting and waiting. And they just need to be able to work. And that's going to make it
possible. So, we'll talk about that. But these are some exciting changes. [inaudible] why is it so
important? It's important because a lot of these applications, they were not subject to premium
processing. As you know, some of them were taking 90 days, 120 days. Now, with this COVID crisis,
people are waiting for more than six months to get their benefits. And this legislation is going to
allow people that are willing to pay extra to get their cases essentially expedited so they don't
have to wait three months or four months or even six months and more to give their applications
process specifically, for example, work permit. So, that's why it's so exciting. So,
let's take a look at what's happening right now, what are the applications that currently
can be used for premium processing. So, currently, we have premium processing,
which you can actually upgrade applications, for example, H1Bs, TN, O1s, E1s, L1s,
H2Bs, H3s, R1s, and P visas. So, essentially, most of the non-immigrant visas can be expedited
by paying… currently the fee is 1,440. And you use form I-97 to add that to your application. You can
add that in the beginning when you file a case, or you can upgrade while the application is pending.
Also, it's available for a few limited employment-based applications. For example, you're
going to upgrade an EB2 I-140 application but not all of course. So, that's the way it is at the
moment. What's going to change now with this new legislation? Let's take a look. So, under the new
legislation, it reads the following, “Subject to reasonable conditions or invitation the secretary
shall establish premium fee under paragraph one in connection with, A, Employment-based
non-immigrant petitions and associated applications for dependent beneficiaries,
Employment-based immigrant petition filed by a [inaudible] aliens described in paragraph 1,
2 and 3 of section [inaudible] 3 B, applications to change or extend non-immigrant status
application for employment authorization, any other immigration benefit type that the Secretary
deems appropriate for premium processing. So, as you can see, it's definitely been expanded.
But also, what has been expanded is the cost of premium processing. So, let’s take a look at two
immigration benefits eligible for premium processing on only for August 20th. The fee
is going to be 2,500. Except for H2Bs and R visas, those are going to remain in 1,500.
Also, the legislation doesn't mention a change in the premium processing duration, which still
going to stay 15 days, 15 calendar days. It also states that for immigration benefits, they were
not subject to premium processing before, they're going to establish a certain fee methodology.
I'll give you a few examples right now. For certain EB1 multinational managers and executives,
and for people that are applying under EB2 national interest waiver, the fee will be set at
2,500 and the duration of premium processing will be about 45 days. As you know, right now, these
petitions can take more than a year to process. So, that's definitely going to be very helpful for
people that are waiting to get the applications approved. If you're changing your status to an F,
J, or M visa inside the United States, the fee is going to be set to 1,750
with a duration of 30 days for premium processing. If you're changing to visa E, H, L, or P,
or R, the premium processing will be set to 1,750 and it's going to be 30 days. Remember, those
are the fees that we talked about in the future. For anything that's going to happen after August
2020. For anybody who is going to be expediting Employment Authorization cards EAD,
the fee will be no more than 1,500. And the premium processing time will be 30 days,
which is very good. Right now, it's taking more than six months for some EADs to come, as you
know. The legislation also requires to report to Congress every 150 days. And the idea is to
establish an online filing and make the system more effective. Also, this legislation
HR 8337 gives the USCIS more flexibility as to how they can use this money to improve their
internal operation, which specifically is stated in that legislation. So, as a whole, I think it's
a positive development USCIS [inaudible] fees. This is a solution to so many applications that
have been stuck for months, we have clients that had been waiting for the EADs, for the revival
of national interest waiver cases. And it's just not fair for people to wait. Yes, it's expensive
but I think it will be worth it, in the long run, to be able to speed up those applications.
And we welcome this legislation, waiting for this to be implemented. Currently, there are no forms,
and we don't have any guidance yet as to when it’s going to be effective. As soon as we know,
I’ll make an update video and let you know. So, once again, if you're here for the first time,
make sure to subscribe to our channel. Click that bell to be notified. Also, give us a big like and
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can get more updates just like this one in a more detailed manner, case samples, copies of
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So, once again, thanks for watching. Leave me a comment and I'll see you in our next video.