EB-1C Premium Processing Time: Form I-907, Fee, and RFEs

Premium processing gives an EB-1C multinational manager or executive petition a 45-business-day adjudication guarantee from USCIS, which works out to roughly nine weeks once weekends and federal holidays are counted. The fee is $2,965 for requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026.¹ That window is far shorter than standard I-140 processing, which routinely runs well past six months, but it only speeds up the petition. The green card itself follows a separate track.

What the 45 Business Days Cover

USCIS commits to taking adjudicative action on an EB-1C (E13) premium processing request within 45 business days of receiving the Form I-907 and the fee.² The clock starts on receipt at the appropriate service center, which is why filers usually send the package by a trackable courier.

Within that window, USCIS must do one of five things: issue an approval, issue a denial, send a Request for Evidence, send a Notice of Intent to Deny, or open a fraud or misrepresentation investigation.² Any of the five counts as meeting the guarantee. An RFE is not a denial, but it does mean the initial filing didn’t give the adjudicator what they needed to approve the case outright.

The clock also resets. If USCIS issues an RFE or a Notice of Intent to Deny, a fresh 45-business-day period begins when you submit your response.² A thin initial filing that triggers an RFE can push the total time to several months even with premium processing paid.

The Fee and the Refund Rule

The premium processing fee for I-140 EB-1C petitions is $2,965 for requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026.¹ Requests postmarked before that date used the prior fee of $2,805. This is on top of the standard I-140 filing fee, not in place of it.

If USCIS fails to take any adjudicative action within 45 business days, the agency automatically refunds the premium processing fee and continues the case under regular processing.² You don’t have to request the refund. Note that if USCIS issues an RFE or Notice of Intent to Deny inside the window, the agency has met its obligation and no refund is owed, even though the case isn’t resolved. If you believe the deadline was missed and no refund arrived, you can contact the USCIS Contact Center or submit an e-Request through your online account.

How To File Form I-907

USCIS rejects filings on outdated editions of the I-907, so check the edition date at the bottom of the form against the current version on the USCIS website before filing, and make sure every page is from the same edition.³ The form asks for the petitioning company’s legal name and EIN and identifying information for the beneficiary. If the I-140 has already been filed, include its receipt number so USCIS can link the two.

Filing by Mail

You can send the I-907 in the same envelope as the initial I-140, or separately once the I-140 is on file. If you file it separately, include a copy of the I-140 receipt notice. The package goes to the service center with jurisdiction over the case; USCIS directs filers to the Form I-140 page for the correct mailing address, which varies by employer location.³

Payment rules changed recently and trip up a lot of filers. USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms unless a specific exemption applies. Pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or directly from a U.S. bank account using Form G-1650.³ A check enclosed with the filing will get the package rejected.

Filing Online

If the underlying I-140 has a receipt number beginning with “IOE” (whether the I-140 was filed online or by mail), you can file the I-907 online by uploading the completed PDF through your USCIS online account.⁴ Payment goes through Pay.gov. Online filing skips mailing delays and gives you immediate confirmation of receipt.

What Happens After a Request for Evidence

An RFE will set a response deadline, typically between 30 and 90 days. Missing the deadline results in a denial, so the response is where the case is most at risk of dying entirely rather than merely stalling.

When USCIS receives your response, a new 45-business-day premium processing period starts.² You do not pay the fee again or file a new I-907. Premium processing carries through the full adjudication, including any evidence rounds, until a final decision issues. If you opt in to electronic notifications through your USCIS account, you’ll get email or text updates when the new clock starts and when the decision is made.

Petition Approval Is Not a Green Card

The 45-business-day guarantee applies only to the I-140, which establishes the beneficiary’s eligibility for the EB-1C classification. Getting the green card is a separate step: Form I-485 to adjust status inside the United States, or consular processing at a U.S. embassy abroad. Premium processing is not available for the I-485.⁵

Whether the I-485 can move at all depends on visa number availability for the beneficiary’s country of chargeability. USCIS assigns a priority date when it receives the I-140, and that date is your place in line. For most countries the EB-1 category is current, so the I-485 can be filed concurrently with or shortly after the I-140. For applicants born in India or mainland China, EB-1 has significant backlogs. As of mid-2026, the final action date for India-born EB-1 applicants is December 2022, and for China-born applicants it is April 2023.⁶ If your priority date falls after those cutoffs, the I-485 can’t move forward no matter how fast the I-140 was approved.

The Department of State updates the visa bulletin monthly. For India-born beneficiaries, further retrogression or temporary unavailability of EB-1 numbers is possible before the end of fiscal year 2026.⁶ Premium processing the I-140 still has value in those situations because it locks in the priority date sooner, but it won’t shorten the wait for a visa number.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Forms Available to File Online
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
6
U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for June 2026