To check your immigration case status, use the system that matches where your case sits: USCIS applications are tracked at the Case Status Online portal with your 13-character receipt number, consular visa cases are tracked through the State Department’s CEAC website, and immigration court cases are tracked through the Executive Office for Immigration Review using your Alien Registration Number. Each system requires a different identifier, and using the wrong one is the most common reason people can’t find their case.
What You Need Before You Check
Every USCIS application gets a 13-character receipt number: three letters followed by ten digits. The letter prefix shows how the case was filed. Older prefixes such as EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, and NBC correspond to specific USCIS service centers. The prefix IOE means the application was filed electronically through the USCIS online system. You’ll find the receipt number in the upper left corner of your Form I-797C, the Notice of Action USCIS mails after accepting your filing. If you filed online, it appears in your myUSCIS account immediately.
You may also have an Alien Registration Number, called an A-Number. This is a number up to nine digits long that the government uses to identify you across immigration databases.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Number Older A-Numbers may have only seven or eight digits. When a form asks for nine digits, add leading zeros after the “A” to reach nine. A12345678 becomes A012345678.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigrant Fee Payment – Tips on Finding Your A-Number and DOS Case ID Your A-Number appears on employment authorization cards, permanent resident cards, and most official notices. Keep both numbers somewhere accessible; different systems ask for different ones.
Checking a USCIS Application Online
The fastest option is the Case Status Online tool at egov.uscis.gov.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case Status Online – Case Status Search Type your 13-character receipt number into the search box without dashes or spaces and click “Check Status.” The screen shows the last action USCIS took on your case and the date it took that action, along with a short narrative describing where things stand.
A free myUSCIS account at my.uscis.gov gives you more. Logged-in users can turn on automatic email or text alerts for status changes, view digital copies of mailed notices, and see estimated processing times based on the agency’s current workload. If you have several pending applications, one dashboard tracks all of them. This matters because mailed notices can take a week or more to arrive; an electronic alert about a Request for Evidence gives you a head start on gathering documents before the paper copy shows up.
Tracking a Card in the Mail
After USCIS approves a case that produces a physical card, such as a green card or employment authorization document, the card ships through USPS. You can follow delivery with USPS Informed Delivery at informeddelivery.usps.com, a free service that sends email or text alerts on incoming packages.4USPS. Informed Delivery – Mail and Package Notifications If you already have a USPS tracking number from your myUSCIS account, add it manually to your Informed Delivery dashboard. Notifications typically begin within three business days of registering.
Calling USCIS or Using Live Chat
The USCIS Contact Center number is 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833). The automated system runs 24 hours a day in English and Spanish and can read out case status when you enter your receipt number. Live agents are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Contact Center Reaching a person means navigating several layers of prompts, so have your receipt number ready before you dial.
The USCIS website also has a virtual assistant called Emma that answers general questions, guides you around the site, and can hand you off to a live chat agent for more involved questions.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Types of Assistance For a straight status check, the portal is faster. For questions the portal doesn’t answer, the phone line or live chat is the better route.
Checking a Visa Case at a U.S. Consulate
USCIS tools do not track visas processed at U.S. consulates abroad. Those cases belong to the Department of State.
The Consular Electronic Application Center at ceac.state.gov lets you check status by selecting “Immigrant Visa” or “Nonimmigrant Visa” and entering your case number, passport number, and the first five letters of your surname.7Consular Electronic Application Center. CEAC Visa Status Check Your case number appears on correspondence from the National Visa Center or on your DS-260 confirmation page.
The National Visa Center publishes weekly processing updates showing which submission dates it is currently reviewing. Recent NVC timeframes showed the center reviewing documents submitted roughly one week earlier.8U.S. Department of State. NVC Timeframes The same page shows the current response window for inquiries submitted through the NVC Public Inquiry Form. If your documents have been pending longer than the posted timeframe, that form is the appropriate next step.
Checking an Immigration Court Case
People in removal proceedings do not use the USCIS portal. Their cases are handled by immigration judges under the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a separate agency inside the Department of Justice. EOIR runs the Automated Case Information System, available online or by calling 1-800-898-7180, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.9Executive Office for Immigration Review. Customer Service Initiatives You’ll need your A-Number. When calling, enter the nine digits without the letter “A.” If your A-Number has only eight digits, enter a zero first, then the eight digits.
The system gives your next hearing date and time, the name of the assigned immigration judge, and the court’s physical location. The online portal at the EOIR website offers a printable summary of your case history and recent orders. EOIR’s Respondent Access Portal lets you upload files, view existing documents, and see detailed hearing information once you create an account.10Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR Respondent Access Keep your contact information current with the court. If you move, you have five working days to notify EOIR of your new address.
Missing a scheduled hearing is one of the most damaging mistakes in immigration court. If you don’t appear, the judge can order your removal in your absence. Checking your hearing date regularly through the EOIR system is the simplest way to prevent that outcome.
Cases on Appeal Before the BIA
If your case is on appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals, the same 1-800-898-7180 hotline provides appeal-specific information, including the appeal due date, brief due date, decision outcome, and filing details.9Executive Office for Immigration Review. Customer Service Initiatives For additional BIA status information, you can also call 703-605-1007, which reaches a phone menu operated by the BIA’s Office of the Chief Clerk with options for appeals and motions.
What USCIS Status Messages Actually Mean
USCIS status messages use specific language. Reading them correctly is how you avoid missing a deadline.
- Case Was Received: USCIS accepted your filing and fee, and a receipt notice is on its way by mail. No action needed. “Case Was Received and an Email Was Sent” is a prompt to create a myUSCIS account for electronic notifications.
- Request for Evidence Was Sent: USCIS determined your filing is missing something and needs more documentation before deciding. This requires a timely response.
- Case Is Being Actively Reviewed: An officer has opened your file and background checks are underway. No action needed, but this stage can last weeks or months.
- Notice Explaining USCIS’ Intention to Deny: An officer plans to deny your application and is giving you a chance to respond before making it final. This is serious and almost always warrants consulting an attorney.
Under federal regulation, if you fail to respond to an RFE or a Notice of Intent to Deny by the deadline, USCIS can deny the case as abandoned, deny it on the evidence already in the file, or both.11eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests Watching your status for either message is the point of checking regularly.
When Your Case Is Stuck
If your application has been pending longer than the posted processing times, you can submit a service request through the USCIS e-Request system. Go to the Case Processing Times page, enter the form type, select the office handling it, and input your receipt date. The tool will either tell you when you’ll be eligible to inquire or give you a link to submit your question immediately.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions About Processing Times The request creates a paper trail showing you tried to resolve the delay. USCIS does not publish a guaranteed response time for these inquiries.
When the usual channels have run out, the CIS Ombudsman inside the Department of Homeland Security can step in. The office exists to help people whose problems USCIS hasn’t resolved. You submit a request using DHS Form 7001, available on the DHS website.13Department of Homeland Security. DHS Form 7001, Request for Case Assistance The form asks you to check off what you’ve already tried, such as calling the Contact Center, checking status online, or visiting a local USCIS office. Those prior steps aren’t technically mandatory, but the Ombudsman’s office recommends completing them first because many common issues get resolved at that level.14Reginfo.gov. Instructions – Case Problem Submission Worksheet DHS-7001 Treat the Ombudsman as a last resort rather than a shortcut.
If You’ve Lost Your Receipt Number or A-Number
Losing your identifying documents doesn’t lock you out permanently. Calling the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 with the information you do have, such as your full name, date of birth, and the type of application you filed, may let an agent look up your case.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Contact Center
For a fuller record, file a Freedom of Information Act request through USCIS’s digital system, FIRST, at first.uscis.gov. This lets you request copies of your entire immigration file.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Expands FIRST – A Fully Digital FOIA System With a USCIS online account, you can track the request’s progress and download documents digitally. When filing without an A-Number or receipt number, give as much identifying information as you can: your full name and any aliases, your name at the time you entered the country, passport or travel document numbers, I-94 arrival record number, and names of family members who may appear in your records. The more you provide, the more likely the government can locate your file.