The USCIS temporarily suspended I-140 premium processing services effective today on the "sole" ground that they will be flooded with the I-140 PPS and they do not have resources to process the cases in 15 days. That is perfectfully understandable. But now, July 2007 I-485 fiasco totally evapolated and they will practically receive no EB-485 applications for the next three months. During the period, they will have more than enough resources to process many other types of immigration benefits petitions and applications, including PPS within 15 days.
Approval of I-140 is critically important for those who suffer from the delayed immigration proceedings. One is availability of AC 21 portability and change of employment for those who are in the pipeline of EB-485 applications. The total vaccuum in adjudication of their I-485 applications during the next three months is likely to cause additional pains and hardships when the I-140 petition is not approved because of unavailability of the portability and change of employment. The other important reason is three-year increment extension of H-1B status for those who are not eligible for H-1B extension beyond the six-year limit because they have yet to accumulate 365 days of filing of labor certification application or immigrant petition and who are ineligible for extension beyond the six years for other reasons. Beginning from today, the H-1B professionals from "any" countries will be eligible for the H-1B extension in "three year increment" owing to the total EB visa number retrogressions for the next three months, provided that they have an "approved" I-140 petitions. For these H-1B professionals, it will be crucially important that the USCIS "immediately" reinstates the premium processing services for I-140 petition partially to overcome the hardship which the today's announcement of retrogression of the employment-based immigrant visas will create.