How to Check USCIS Case Status Online, All 3 options, Track History, FAQs (2024)

USCIS accepts various kinds of forms related to US immigration benefits or applications. Processing such applications or petitions can take time and is subject to many hurdles. The processing times of these cases filed with USCIS can vary based on the location, type of the form, etc., and are subject to delays.

Keeping an eye on the processing of your case is critical to keep yourself informed and not panic. In this article, we provide you with all details on how to check or track your USCIS Case status online, various case statuses, including options to subscribe for case status updates. Also, we will cover many FAQs.

Before we get into details on how to track the USCIS case status, it is good to understand some basics of what is case receipt notice is and how you can find the case number to track your application submitted with USCIS.

What is USCIS Case Receipt Notice? Case Receipt Number?

USCIS Receipt Notice: After you submit an application or petition with USCIS, they will send you a receipt notice using physical mail that indicates that your application or petition was received by them and they are processing the same. But, for some forms like I-765 for F1 OPT, where you can submit the application online, the receipt notice is generated immediately after submission. USCIS also sends a physical receipt notice for any online forms submissions as well.

USCIS Case Receipt Number: When the receipt notice is generated by USCIS, they assign a Receipt Number, which is also referred to as a USCIS Case number. The USCIS Receipt Number is a 13-digit number and typically starts with three alphabets like IOE, WAC, EAC, etc. based on where it was filed. You can use this 13-digit Receipt Number that appears on the Receipt receipt notice ( which is Form I-797C) to track Case Status online using the USCIS website.

USCIS Receipt Notice is officially called Form I-797C, Notice of Action. The same I-797C form is used to communicate other case-related updates like rejections, case transfers, USCIS appointments, and others. Below is a screenshot of Sample form I-797C, where you would find the Receipt Number or Case Number.

Who can check their USCIS Case Status Online?

Anyone, who submitted a petition, application, or benefit request with USCIS and where they generate a Receipt Notice with a Receipt number on it can check their case status online. Below are the most common types of USCIS applications that you can check the case status online.

• Work visa petitions like H1B, L1, O-1, other visa types using Form I-129
• Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications using form I-765
• Adjustment of Status applications using form I-485
• Advance parole travel document applications using form I-131
• Application for Naturalization using form N-400
• Green card petition (immigrant visa) for workers using form I-140
• Above are just some of them, there are many other forms that are used by USCIS, which you can use to check the status online.

Who cannot check USCIS Case Status Online?

You cannot check a USCIS Case Status online if there is no ‘Receipt Number’ on the receipt notice or the confirmation notice for the submission. For example, there is no Receipt number given by USCIS during the H1B Visa Registration selection. In this situation, you cannot check the USCIS case status online for the H1B Registration selection.

See the below screenshot, it does not have the receipt number, rather only has the beneficiary confirmation number.

Now that we understand, what is USCIS Receipt Notice and Receipt Number are, let’s look at how to check the USCIS case status online.

Step-by-Step Guide to Check USCIS Case Status Online

The USCIS website is the official online location to check and track your USCIS Case Status for any application or benefit that was filed with them. It is very straightforward to check or track your case status online. Below is a step-by-step guide with screenshots of the same.

• Step 1 – Find your USCIS Case Receipt Number: Before you proceed to check the case status, you need to first locate your USCIS case receipt number. As shown in the above screenshot, the case number appears on the top left-hand side in the box that says ‘Receipt Number’. It will be a 13-digit number and start with EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, NBC, MSC, or IOE. After the 3 letters, the receipt number will be followed by 10 numbers.
• Step 2 – Go to USCIS.gov Case Status Webpage: Visit USCIS.gov Case Status Page
• Step 3 – Enter Receipt number: You will need to enter the 13-digit USCIS Case number in the enter a receipt number box. You should not enter any dashes(-) when you enter the case receipt number in the box. If there are any other letters or characters like ‘*’, then you should enter them as well. See the below screenshot on where to enter the USCIS case receipt number.
• Step 4 – Click on Check Status: You need to click on the check status button. After you do that, you will get the USCIS case status displayed online. See the below example of case status for an application that is currently being processed by USCIS filed for an H1B Visa Petition.

How to Track USCIS Case Status with History, Get Alerts

It would be always nice to have the entire history of anything, rather than just the current status. Thankfully, USCIS provides such an option for users to track their entire case history and even alerts. To check the entire history and get alerts related to your case, first, you need to create a free account on the USCIS.gov website. All you need to do is signup for an account using the USCIS.gov signup account link.

Read Step by Step Guide to creating USCIS Online Account, Add a Case to check the History

Once you create a free account on the USCIS website, you can add your ‘Receipt Number’ from the Case Receipt notice (I-797C, Notice of Action). Below is a sample screenshot of how old USCIS account login looks like after you add a case. You can add multiple cases and track their status as well. To get alerts, you need to click on “Email Alerts On”. You can also get mobile alerts by clicking on “Mobile Alerts On”. You can choose to have them disabled by clicking on the “Email Alerts Off” or “Mobile Alerts Off”. See the below screenshot for how it looks.

Below is a sample screenshot of how the entire USCIS case history is tracked and displayed to the user. You can see the Case History Section as highlighted below on the bottom left. You can also see the next steps section on the right to know what is the next step.

In the current era, most of us have access to the internet either using a smartphone or with the internet provider at home. But, there are still some people who are outside of the US or even in remote areas in the US, who may or may not have access to the internet and do not know how to check the Case Status online. In such cases, USCIS provides few more options like calling USCIS Contact Center or visiting a USCIS Field office. let’s look at them now.

USCIS recommends using its online website for case status checking. But, for some reason, if you do not have access to a computer for any reason, you can call USCIS Contact Center. USCIS says that you would get the same case status that you see online when you call them on phone. Below is the process

• If you are in US, you can call phone number 1-800-375-5283
• If you are deaf, hard to hear, speech disability : TTY 800-767-1833
• If you are calling from outside US, call 212-620-3418

Timings to Call USCIS

You can call USCIS anytime Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM EST ( New York Time). The helpline is closed on federal holidays and weekends.

Visit In-person to USCIS Field Office to Check Status

If you cannot use any of the above listed two options, then you can plan to visit the USCIS field office or in-person services. They do not encourage this practice for case status checks but may consider if there are issues with your case. You cannot do a walk-in to the USCIS field office. You need to book an appointment. You cannot book appoint online, you need to book an appointment by calling the details listed at USCIS Contact Center.

Discontinued Options to Check USCIS Case Status

Below are some of the options that used to be available for everyone, but they have been discontinued now as of the year 2021 due to the modernization of USCIS processes and the availability of digital channels to check status.

USCIS Email option to Check case status

In the past, USCIS provided an option to send emails to their service centers to check the status of your pending USCIS petition or application. Starting from Jan 21, 2019, they have discontinued the Case Assistance by Service Center by email. You should NOT email to any of the below email addresses, you will not get a response. USCIS recommends that you check case status online as explained above or call them.

The USCIS service center e-mail addresses that are discontinued are listed below:

• California Service Center:csc-ncsc-followup@uscis.dhs.gov
• Vermont Service Center:vsc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov
• Nebraska Service Center:NSCFollowup.NCSC@uscis.dhs.gov
• Potomac Service Center:psc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov
• Texas Service Center:tsc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov

Online Appointment Booking, if in the US

USCIS has discontinued in-person appointment booking for anyone living in the US. You cannot use their online appointment booking system anymore. You can only use that option, if you are outside the US and meet specific criteria.

Direct Mail option for case status

USCIS has discontinued the option to send physical Direct Mail to their Service Centers. In the past, they had an option where you would send your details like Name, date of birth, date your application was filed, receipt number and copy of the receipt notice, and the location where it was filed to the USCIS address. USCIS would respond to your request after that in 15 to 30 days. With digital options now, they have discontinued this option for general case inquiries.

USCIS Case Status – Understand Processing Times Trend

The USCIS processing time for a case depends on various factors like the application or petition type filed, the service center filed, and the current estimated processing times. You should check USCIS.gov for current processing times to get an idea of how long it can take. You need to select the form type and Field office or service center on that page to get an idea of the processing times for the forms you filed with USCIS.

You can check USCIS Historical Processing times to get an idea of how long it took in the last few years and what is the average processing time for each of the forms.

Common FAQs