UNCLASSIFIED To:
ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS - ROUTINE Origin: VO From: SECSTATE
WASHDC (STATE 101997 - ROUTINE) TAGS: CVIS Captions: None Subject: INS Premium Processing
Service for Petitions Ref: None _______________________________________________________________ 1. The Visa Office would like to
inform posts about a change in INS procedures that has
received media attention in the United States and which
may result in questions abroad. INS will implement
Premium Processing Service to combat chronic
petition-processing backlogs related to those who wish to
work temporarily in the U.S. INS guarantees that
businesses that pay $1,000 for Premium Processing Service
will receive an approval, denial, or request for evidence
on their petitions within 15 days of filing. If INS fails
to meet this guarantee, it will refund the fee to the
business. 2. This story appeared in various
media on May 31 and again on June 1. While some
immigration watchers are lauding the program as a way to
break through INS's backlogs, others are criticizing the
program as being elitist and showing favoritism towards
petitioners and beneficiaries who can afford to pay this
high fee. A June 1 editorial in the Washington Post takes
this latter position. INS has publicly explained that the
extra revenue generated by the program will allow the
hiring of more personnel and modernization of systems
"across the board." 3. The media consistently have
misreported this development as a visa issue. Please note
that the Premium Process Service affects only INS
adjudication of nonimmigrant visa petitions in the
following categories: E-1, E-2, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, L-1A,
L-1B, blanket L, O, P, and Q. H-1B, R, and TN petitions
will be included in the program later. The Consular
Bureau public affairs office (CA/P) is working with the
Department's Bureau of Public Affairs (PA) to try to
clarify for the media the important distinction between
the petition portion of the process that is affected by
this new INS expedite procedure and the actual visa
issuance part of the process that falls under the State
Department's (i.e., CA's) jurisdiction. 4. Conoffs have no obligation to
change consular processing in light of whether a
particular applicant used the option of paying INS for
Premium Processing Service or not. It is unclear what
impact, if any, that this program will have on
visa-processing workload or timelines at our consular
sections abroad. INS believes that most individuals who
are the beneficiaries of a petition for temporary work
adjudicated under the Premium Processing Service option
are already in the U.S. 5. Since CA views this new INS
procedure as exclusively a petition-Processing program
and not a visa issue, there should be no impact on visa
reciprocity. Nevertheless, if host governments raise this
issue, posts should emphasize that the fee is a not a new
visa fee, and it is an optional service paid for by the
potential employer, not the potential visa applicant. POWELL |