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Premium Processing for Certain F-1 Students

March 9th, 2023

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Recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its expansion of premium processing for certain F-1 students seeking Optimal Practice Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and wish to request a premium processing upgrade. 

Additionally, F-1 students in these categories can now either file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, online or by mail. To file Form I-907 online, the student will need to create a free USCIS online account.

This premium processing expansion for certain F-1 students will occur in phases, and students requesting premium processing should not file before these dates: 

  • Beginning March 6, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for certain F-1 students who already have a pending Form I-765 they are filing under one of the following categories:
    • (c)(3)(A) – Pre-Completion OPT; 
    • (c)(3)(B) – Post-Completion OPT; and 
    • (c)(3)(C) – 24-Month Extension of OPT for STEM students. 
  • Beginning April 3, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for F-1 students in the above categories when filed together with Form I-765. 

USCIS will reject premium processing requests for a pending Form I-765 if received before March 6, and will reject any premium processing request for an initial or concurrently filed Form I-765 that is received before April 3. 

Applicants who previously filed a paper Form I-765 and wish to file Form I-907 online to request premium processing should reference the USCIS Account Access Notice they received for the Online Access Code and details on how to link their paper-filed cases to their online account, or they will not be able to file Form I-907 online and will need file a paper Form I-907 with the Chicago lockbox. 

The addition of online filing for Form I-907 brings the total number of forms available for online filing to 16. However, USCIS continues to accept the latest paper versions of all forms by mail. 

If you have any questions about the new premium processing expansion, please contact our office and set up a consultation with one of our attorneys today!