New Form I-907 and I-129 Editions, Separate Check Policy, Streamlined Data Estimating Processing - (Orig. 05/31/22: UPDATED 1/3/23)
**1/3/23: LATEST EDITION OF FORM I-907 GOES INTO EFFECT JAN 30; LATEST EDITION OF FORM I-129 GOES INTO EFFECT FEB 27.
Starting January 30, 2023, USCIS will only accept the 11/03/22 edition of the Form I-907 to request Premium Processing Service. Until then, petitioners can also use the 05/31/22 edition. (Find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions). It is always advised that petitioners go to USCIS to download the latest form for each petition, to be sure the most recent version is being used. There are no changes to the form's contents, so the sample form I-907 in the Artists from Abroad Appendix remains the same.
There is also a new November 2, 2022 edition of the Form I-129 to request O and P visa approval, among other categories. USCIS will continue to accept the 05/31/22 and 3/10/21 editions through February 26, but beginning February 27, 2023 will only accept the newest edition. Petitioners should make it a habit to utilize the very latest version of forms available via uscis.gov. There are no changes to the form's essential contents, so the sample O and P visa petitions in the Appendix remain the same at this time. The removal of Part 6 information on public benefits means that our posted template sections that are identified as Parts 8 and 9 are now numbered as Parts 7 and 8, respectively, on the very latest form.
Please note that as of May 31, 2022, USCIS no longer accepts a single, combined fee payment when an applicant or petitioner files Form I-907 with another form, such as the I-129. The Form I-907 fee must be paid separately from other filing fees with its own check. Therefore, if a petitioner is filing a Form I-129 for an O or P guest artist visa and a Form I-907 to request Premium Processing Service, separate checks must be written for the I-129 fee and the I-907 fee. While this has always been the advice of Artists from Abroad, USCIS is formalizing this practice and has stated on its website that if a petitioner or applicant submits a single, combined fee payment in future, USCIS will reject the forms for improper fee payment.
Lastly, USCIS recently simplified and updated the manner in which it displays estimated processing times for visa petitions. Rather than displaying a large chart that includes multiple data points, including receipt dates of petitions, the estimated processing time now displays a single value estimating the processing time for a particular type of visa at a specific service center. Learn more about the simplified processing data here.