Vermont Processing Times- Anyone else waiting on H1B extension?

[toughnut7]

My company applied for my H1 extension through regular processing in the month of May. The receipt date is May 29, 2013. My case was applied at the Vermont service center. The case status still says "Initial Review". Do you know how long it takes for the approvals to come through these days? The average processing time in the USCIS website says 2 months but Vermont shows 3.5 months processing time for an I129 (not average). But it's been more than 4 months now and there is no progress yet. Is it taking longer time now for the approvals to come through? Please advise/ and let me know if you are in a similar situation


I work with a big 5 IT service company and approval for Premium is a time taking process in itself.
Is there a way I can pay the Premium fee on behalf of my Employer directly to the USCIS?