At a recent stakeholder phone conference, USCIS has confirmed that because of the new version of Form I-539 and the addition of the bio-metric appointment for dependent applications, USCIS will no longer offer premium processing as a courtesy to these types of applications. Even when filed concurrently. This is a huge hit for anyone on H-4 working on an H-4 EAD.
Those that fall into this category should be prepared for lengthy delays (average processing time for H-4’s posted by USCIS at VSC is 6 Months to 8 Months, which better reflects the realities of longer processing times) and gaps in their ability to work as the adjudication of their H-4 EAD will also be delayed.