July 20, 2009
USCIS Announces Resumption of Premium Processing Service for R-1 Nonimmigrant
Religious Worker Visa Classification
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced
that, effective today, it will resume Premium Processing Service for nonimmigrant
religious worker petitions filed by certain R-1 petitioners. Only those
petitioners who have successfully passed an on-site inspection are eligible
to file under Premium Processing Service.
In August 2005, USCIS' Office of Fraud Detection and National Security
completed a Benefit Fraud Assessment (BFA) which focused on religious
worker petitions. Based on that assessment, USCIS initiated a site inspection
requirement as part of the adjudication process for religious worker petitions.
Due to the requirement for a successful site inspection prior to approval,
premium processing was suspended for R-1 nonimmigrant religious worker
visa petitions on November 28, 2006.
Under Premium Processing Service, USCIS guarantees petitioners that, for
a $1,000 processing fee, it will issue either an approval notice or, where
appropriate, a denial notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for
evidence, or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, within
15 calendar days of receipt. If the petition is not processed within 15
calendar days, USCIS will refund the $1,000 fee and continue to process
the request under normal processing times. As the processing of R-1 nonimmigrant
petitions includes procedures such as inspections, evaluations, verifications
and compliance reviews, designed to ensure the legitimacy of the petitioner
and statements made in the petition, USCIS cannot reasonably ensure the
processing of R-1 nonimmigrant petitions within 15 calendar days for those
petitioners who have not previously had a successful completion of a site
inspection.
Accordingly, USCIS will resume its acceptance of Form I-907, Request for
Premium Processing Service, for Form I-129s, Petition for a Nonimmigrant
Worker, requesting R-1 nonimmigrant visa classification, only from those
religious organizations that have previously had a successful completion
of a site inspection at the location where the beneficiary will be employed.
Prior to accepting the Form I-907, USCIS will conduct a system search
to verify whether or not a successful site inspection was completed at
the location where the beneficiary will work. The petitioner may choose
to submit a copy of Form I-797 approval notice for the previously approved
R petition to facilitate USCIS in locating the petitioner's site inspection record.
Information about the expanded Premium Processing Service, including what
classifications are eligible to request such processing, is available
on the USCIS Web site at www.uscis.gov or by calling the USCIS National
Customer Service Center toll free at (800) 375-5283.