As part of its campaign to expand premium processing service, United Sates Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced it will begin to offer premium processing for certain applicants filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, to change into F, M, or J Nonimmigrant Status. USCIS will offer premium processing to those seeking to change their status to F, M, or J in phases according to the following schedule:

As of June 13, 2023, USCIS is accepting premium processing requests for currently pending I-539 applications for those seeking to change status to F-1, F-2, M-1, J-1, or J-2 status.
Beginning June 26, 2023, the agency will accept I-907 requests for premium processing requests from applicants filing new I-539 applications to change status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 status.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in response to the immigration-related challenges resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, has issued additional information about filing extension and change of status petitions for those who “may unexpectedly remain in the United States beyond their authorized period of stay due to COVID-19.” DHS states that in general nonimmigrants must depart the US before their authorized period of admission expires, but if that is not possible because of reasons related to COVID-19, nonimmigrants should note the following:

Applying for an Extension: DHS first notes that many nonimmigrants can mitigate the immigration consequences of COVID-19 by timely filing an application for extension of stay (EOS) or change of status (COS). US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) is currently accepting and processing applications and petitions, and some forms are available for online filing.