U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the immigration agency with which you will need to file immigration and citizenship applications. When you file an application with the USCIS, the agency will assign a unique identifying number to your specific case, known as the USCIS case number or receipt number.
You will need to keep this number safe because you will need it to track the status of your case with the USCIS. We can help you check your case status using the receipt number that you received from the USCIS.
When Will You Receive Your USCIS Case Number?
You are more likely to receive your receipt number within 2-3 weeks from filing your application with the USCIS. You will receive an application receipt notice, Form I-797C, Notice of Action, from the USCIS that says that your application has been accepted by the agency for processing. This notice will have your case number. This number is generally a 13-digit alphanumeric number. However, you will not receive a receipt notice with a case number if your application was rejected. In that case, you will receive a notice of action letting you know your application was rejected.
This receipt number has four parts and these parts explain something about your USCIS case and when your application was received. Let’s take the following receipt number to explain the purpose of the different parts of the receipt number.
EAC-16-011-56789
USCIS Service Center
The first three letters, “EAC” indicate the USCIS Service Center that is processing your case. The service center to which your case will be forwarded to will depend on the U.S. state where you live.
Following are the USCIS Service Centers and their respective codes.
CSC – California Service Center
WAC – Western Adjudication Center (known as California Service Center)
EAC – Eastern Adjudication Center (known as Vermont Service Center)
VSC – Vermont Service Center
NSC – Nebraska Service Center
LIN – Lincoln Service Center (known as Nebraska Service Center)
NBC – National Benefits Center
MSC – Missouri Service Center (known as National Benefits Center)
TSC – Texas Service Center
SRC – Southern Regional Center (known as Texas Service Center)
IOE – ELIS (e-filing)
YSC – Potomac Service Center
Fiscal Year
The second part of the case number that comes after the service center, represents the fiscal year (FY) in which the USCIS assigned you this case number. The two digits in the above example, “16”, indicate that the USCIS received your petition in FY 2016. Fiscal years and calendar years are not the same. Fiscal years begin on October 1 and end on September 30.
So if your case was opened on October 4, 2016, your case number will have “17” in the receipt number as it falls in FY 2017.
Computer Workday
The third part of your USCIS case number indicates the working day of the year in which your case was opened, and your fee was processed. “011” in the above example indicates that your case was opened on the eleventh day of the fiscal year.
Case Processing Number
The fourth part of your receipt number, the last five digits, “56789” are the actual identification numbers that have been assigned to your specific case.
USCIS Case Status
USCIS Case numbers are important because you will not be able to know what the status of your case is without these numbers. USCIS will update the status of your case once the agency begins processing it.
To check your case status, you will have to enter your 13-character identifier assigned to your case by the USCIS. This number is used to track and identify your case. You will need to omit the dashes “-” when you enter your case number to check the status of your case. You can find this number on your application receipt notice and on other notices that you receive from the USCIS.
