WASHINGTON (TIP): From Monday, June 26, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed for medical doctors under the Conrad 30 Waiver program, as well as interested government agency waivers. The Conrad 30 program allows certain medical doctors to stay in the United States on a temporary visa after completing their medical training to work in rural and urban areas that have shortage of physicians.
“This program improves health care access for Americans living in underserved areas, and we are pleased to resume premium processing for these petitions,” said USCIS Acting Director James McCament.
Now eligible petitioners for medical doctors seeking H-1B status under the Conrad 30 program, or through an interested government agency waiver, can file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. Form I-907 can be filed together with an H-1B petition or separately for a pending H-1B petition.
USCIS in March had announced that it has temporarily stopped the processing of premium processing of H-1B visa until further notice. USCIS plans to resume premium processing of other H-1B petitions as workloads permit. They will make additional announcements with specific details related to when they will begin accepting premium processing for those petitions.
Until then, premium processing remains temporarily suspended for all other H-1B petitions. USCIS will reject any Form I-907 filed for those petitions, and if the petitioner submitted one check combining the Form I-907 and Form I‑129 fees, USCIS will have to reject both forms.