H-1B Petition I-129 filing by Sponsor

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

Based on the documents that you have sent to the Sponsor and the accepted Offer Letter, Sponsor will prepare the H-1B Petition I-129 and submit it to any one of the following Service Centers of U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) based on the applicable jurisdiction.

• California Service Center
• Nebraska Service Center
• Texas Service Center
• Vermont Service Center

Source: USCIS

Your sponsor can submit your H-1B Petition I-129 in either of the following processing modes:

1. Regular Processing
   • Processing Time – up till 6 months
   • Base filing fee – US$ 325
     • American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) fee
       • US$ 750 for employers with 1 to 25 full-time equivalent employees, unless exempt
       • US$ 1,500 for employers with 26 or more full-time equivalent employees, unless exempt
     • Fraud Prevention and Detection fee
       • US$ 500 to be submitted with a request for initial H-1B status or with a request for a beneficiary already in H-1B status to change employers (does not apply to Chile/Singapore H-1B1 petitions)
     • Public Law 111-230
       • US$ 2,000 to be submitted by a petitioner which employs 50 or more employees in the United States where more than 50 percent of its employees in the United States are in H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant status.
       • must be submitted with a request for initial H-1B status or a request for a beneficiary already in H-1B status to change employers
   • Turn around time – Within 6 months
2. Premium Processing
   • Processing Time – Within 2 weeks
   • All fees mentioned in “Regular Processing” above
   • Additional fee of US$ 1,225 for employers seeking Premium Processing Service

Source: USCIS

So does Premium Processing has Higher chances of Approval? the answer is No. Its just a way to expedite the processing of your application. Premium processing will not increase your chances of approval. And, if you are applying for H-1B for the first time, there’s no need to go for Premium Processing, because even if you know early, that your H-1B Petition I-129 has been approved, you can not enter USA before 1st of October the same year.

Then why should one go for Premium Processing? there are cases when opting for Premium Processing is beneficial:

1. H-1B Transfers – because candidate can work right away and do not have to wait for 1st October. Moreover, candidate want to switch early instead of being stuck with existing sponsor for long
2. H-1B Addendum – because candidate can work right away and do not have to wait for 1st of October
3. etc.

Once the H-1B Petition I-129 is submitted by the Sponsor, the USCIS Service Center will send a Receipt Notice bearing a 13 digit alphanumeric reference number.This is the petitioner’s (sponsor’s) first confirmation that the petition is in the adjudicating queue.

You will now have to wait for the approval of your petition by USCIS. During that period you can check about your case status from time to time on USCIS website.