As many of our readers are aware, the USCIS is approving premium processed EB1A and EB1B cases very rapidly. We are pleased to report that this trend is continuing with nearly all of our premium processed EB1 I-140 petitions. While the Premium Processing Service is not available for I-485’s, we have found that most I-485’s receive approvals within two months of the approval of an EB1 based I-140. Taking our most recent case as an example:
The EB1B petitioner was a small start-up company in the computer field that wished to sponsor one of its research engineers so that he could begin working on restricted controlled technology. (By law, this technology can only be worked on by permanent residents or citizens of the United States.) Particularly challenging in this case was the small size of the company and the negative income reported on its last tax return. We successfully addressed the issue by submitting detailed documentation demonstrating how much capital the company raised in its latest round of venture capital financing.
The beneficiary research engineer was a solid candidate with roughly 50 citations to his six peer-reviewed publications, and significant history of reviewing for some of the top journals in the field.
The I-140 for this case was approved in seven days via the Premium Processing Service without an RFE. The beneficiary’s I-485 petition was submitted concurrently with I-140 and was approved in approximately seven weeks. The total time from first submission of the I-140 to final approval of the I-485 was less than two months.
The case recounted above is typical for nearly all of our recently submitted EB1 premium processed cases. We are pleased to see that the USCIS is continuing its trend of rapid approvals allowing applicants to receive their green cards within two months of submitting the I-140 petition.
For questions or comments regarding this article please email Attorney Fok at: jfok@jclawoffice.com