For some beneficiaries and petitioners with premium processing cases filed from June 17, 2026, to June 19, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) premium processing service may not be working as expected. Many of these cases continue to face extended USCIS premium processing delays.
What is USCIS’ premium processing service?
USCIS premium processing provides expedited processing for certain case types filed on Forms I-129, I-140, I-765, and I-539. The agency guarantees 15‑business‑day service for most Form I‑129 and Form I‑140 classifications, with a fee of $2,965; 30‑calendar‑day service for eligible Form I‑765 categories, with a fee of $1,685; and a 30‑calendar‑day service for eligible Form I‑539 change‑of‑status and extension‑of‑status applications, with a fee of $1,965. USCIS maintains a current list of premium processing eligible case types on its website.
What happened to premium processing cases filed in June?
The 15-business-day USCIS premium processing window for cases filed between June 17 and June 19 elapsed between July 10 to July 16, yet many of these filings remained pending with USCIS. Several cases reflected delayed “processing start” dates in the USCIS online case tracker, showing initiation well after the lockbox’s physical receipt date. In addition, emails sent to USCIS requesting status updates also went largely unanswered, leaving petitioners and beneficiaries without clarity on case progress.
As it turns out, due to a USCIS system glitch, cases filed during this time period were not correctly marked for premium processing in USCIS’ internal system. Accordingly, USCIS is manually reviewing all filings from this period to correctly designate which should receive premium processing treatment. While some affected cases have since been approved, others remain pending into August. USCIS has not officially stated whether it will issue refunds of the premium processing fee for petitions that exceeded the 15‑business‑day adjudication period. For additional information or case‑specific guidance regarding USCIS premium processing delays, please contact Ellen Freeman Immigration Law Group, PLLC.
