United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides a number of ways to track your case status, online on their official website as well as offline through options like email, Direct Mail, Phone, or in-person visit to their field office.

Once your immigration-related petition is submitted you receive your USCIS receipt number. Depending on the nature of your application/petition submitted to USCIS there can be a long waiting time due to backlogs, United States government disruptions, and changing laws, but the easiest way to relieve that stress is to check your USCIS case status.

Checking USCIS processing times allows you to understand how long particular cases are taking and to estimate how long your petition will take.

You can check the USCIS case status online on the website of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

USCIS receipt number is the key to tracking your case status

Before we get into the specifics of how to track the USCIS case status, it’s important to first understand what a case receipt notice is and how to locate the case receipt number in order to follow your application with USCIS.

After you submit an application or petition with USCIS, you will get a receipt notification in the mail indicating that your petition or immigration application has been received and is being processed.

However, for some forms, like the I-765 for F1 OPT, where you can submit the application online, a receipt note is generated right away. For any online form submissions, USCIS also issues a physical receipt notice.

When USCIS generates a receipt note, it assigns a Receipt Number, also known as a USCIS Case number.

The Receipt Number consists of a 13-digit number that begins with three alphabets and 10 numbers. The letters can be such as WAC, EAC, SRC, LIN, NBC, MSC, or IOE depending on where the application was filed.

You can track Case Status online utilizing the website for USCIS by entering the 13-digit number that appears on the Receipt (Form I-797C).

Steps to check USCIS case status online

The most convenient approach to check the progress of your USCIS case is to do it online on the official website of USCIS.

You can verify your status after receiving your I-797 by following the instructions below:

• Visit the Case Status Online Tool provided on the website of USCIS
• Enter 13 digits receipt number correctly as provided by USCIS
• Press “Check Status” from the drop-down menu

The page will refresh when you press the button, and you’ll see an update with the present status of your case.

Note that all websites owned by the United States government or an official government website, or official government organization will have a .gov domain, which signifies an official website of the united states government. Enter sensitive information only on official websites/gov websites you trust, which is secure websites and you are safely connected via the internet. Do not enter sensitive information on non-gov websites or on sources you don’t trust.

Who is eligible to check the status of their USCIS case online?

Anyone who has filed a petition, application, or benefit request with USCIS and received a Receipt number can check the progress of their case online.

The most typical USCIS application categories for which you can check the status of your case online are listed below:

• Form I-140
• Form I-485
• Form I-765
• Adjustment of Status (AOS)
• Advance Parole
• Employment Authorization Documents (EAD)
• Citizenship

You can check the following application types on the USCIS website:

• H-1B Applications
• Green Card Application or petition

Who is unable to check USCIS case status online?

If there is no “Receipt Number” on the confirmation notice for the submission, you cannot check the status of a USCIS case online.

For instance, while choosing the H1B Visa Registration option, USCIS does not provide a receipt number. In this instance, it is not possible to access the USCIS case status for the H1B Registration option online.

Additional ways to check the status of your USCIS case status

Check Case Status from USCIS via Email

To find out your status, get in touch with the appropriate USCIS Service Center. Your application will be evaluated at a different email address for each specific USCIS processing center.

Here is the contact information for a few of the popular centers:

• California Service Center: csc-ncsc-followup@dhs.gov
• Nebraska Service Center: ncscfollowup.nsc@dhs.gov
• Texas Service Center: tsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov
• Vermont Service Center: vsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov

Note that all current contact details are always available on the official website of USCIS.

Check USCIS case status by phone

To find out the status of your USCIS case, contact USCIS at 1-800-375-5283. You can call and get an update without providing your receipt number.

Be prepared for long wait times when you call on USCIS on 1 800 375 5283, depending on how many people are calling to check on their status, you could be on hold for up to 2 (two) hours.

Case status from USCIS via direct mail

This is another way you can find out about your USCIS case status. You can send an inquiry letter to your local USCIS field office (where you submitted your visa application/immigration application/green card petition) with the following details to acquire a case status update:

• Date of birth
• Full Name
• Alien number (if applicable)
• Your petition was when filed
• Your petition was where filed
• Receipt number (if you have one)

To make the process of updating the case status easier, if it is possible, include a copy of your receipt with your inquiry letter. 

How to check case status from USCIS in-person 

You can also physically check on the progress of your USCIS case. You’ll need to schedule a meeting with your neighborhood processing center for this.

You can schedule an appointment whether or not you’re currently in the United States. Visit the USCIS appointment scheduling page to set up an appointment.

How do I know if USCIS approved my case?

Your case’s processing time will depend on the form you filled out. On the USCIS website, you can also obtain the average case processing time.

Unfortunately, depending on your circumstance and the type of paperwork you submitted, processing times can range from months to years.

How long does it take for USCIS to review your case?

USCIS issues the receipt note within 30 days of receiving your petition or application and receiving the package. It typically takes between 15 and 30 days.

When there are delays at the service center, it occasionally takes many months. You should get in touch with USCIS in such circumstances to learn more.

Is the USCIS online case status accurate?

The USCIS processing time for a case relies on several aspects such as the application or petition type filed, the service center filed, and the currently expected processing timeframes.

To obtain a sense of how long it might take, you should check the secure websites which is the website of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS.gov for the most recent processing times.

Additionally to receive an indication of the processing timelines for the forms you filed with USCIS, you must choose the form type and Field office or service center on that page.

To obtain an idea of how long it took in the recent past and the typical processing time for each form, check out USCIS Historical Processing Times.

How do I get USCIS case status updates?

There are simple ways to manually check the status of your case, but it can be more effective (and less stressful) to sign up for automatic updates on the official website of USCIS.

OR you can now subscribe to receive regular updates on the status of your USCIS case through a new service that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed.

The service can be subscribed to without a U.S. Social Security number. Please note that the website of the department of homeland security may direct you to USCIS’s official website depending on the information you seek related to the immigration application filed.

It’s common to mistake the new Department of Homeland Security service for an earlier iteration of USCIS’s status tracking system.

You or any of your family members may wish to steer clear of tools from third parties that demand payment for case status checking services.