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'Hey Boss, I Need Premium Processing' - Can an H-1B Employee Pay the Premium Processing Fee?

July 27, 2013 (1 min read)

"...This is a gray area, like so many things in immigration law, because there is no clear rule on the issue and, believe it or not, different government agencies have taken different stances on the issue over time, and of course, no one approach is clearly definitive. Anecdotal data provides some guidance, as so much in our practice comes from cumulative experience on issues like the one here, i.e., whether a beneficiary may pay the premium processing fee.  Although no agency has opined on the issue since 2009, allowing the H-1B beneficiary to pay the premium processing fee may be defensible where the benefit inures solely to the employee, the employer has no need for the premium processing, and the payment of the premium processing fee does not drop the H-1B beneficiary’s wage below the required wage. ..." -  Cyrus D. Mehta and Myriam Jaidi,  July 26, 2013.