On April 13, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data entry and the generation of receipt notices would be delayed until at least May 1, 2020, for fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions.

The following is a summary of the key information provided by USCIS:

• USCIS will not immediately begin data entry for petitions received during the H-1B filing window that began on April 1, 2020, and runs for 90 days.
• Each petition will be stamped with the date it was received at the service center.
• Once data entry commences, USCIS will process petitions in the order of receipt.
• The 90-day filing window remains unchanged. All FY 2021 H-1B cap petitions must be received by June 30, 2020.
• Petitioners are encouraged to wait to inquire about their case status with USCIS until they have received a receipt notice.
• Employers can expect a “general delay” in the processing of FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions.

USCIS stated that it was “mindful” of cap-gap petitions and other petitions with sensitive expiration or start dates. The agency stated that it would process those petitions as “efficiently as possible.”