Locate your receipt number on the USCIS Notice of Action (Form I-797); it is a 13-character identifier consisting of 3 letters followed by 10 digits (e.g., EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, NBC, MSC, or IOE prefix codes).
Navigate to the USCIS case status page at https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do and enter your receipt number in the provided field.
Enter the receipt number without hyphens or spaces even if your notice displays it with hyphens (e.g., enter 'EAC2190000001' not 'EAC-219-000-0001'); the system requires the raw 13-character string.
Submit the form to retrieve the current status; statuses include received, fingerprint fee received, biometrics appointment scheduled, interview scheduled, approved, denied, and others.
For automated or batch lookups, use the USCIS Case Status API endpoint documented at https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do with the appReceiptNum parameter set to the 13-character number without hyphens.
Check status regularly after expected processing milestones; USCIS updates case status in real time as adjudicators take action.
Known gotchas
The receipt number is exactly 13 characters (3 letters + 10 digits); entering 12 or 14 characters, or including hyphens, will return a 'case not found' error even if the number is otherwise correct.
Printed notices sometimes display the receipt number with hyphens for readability — always strip them before entering into any online form or API call.
Receipt number prefixes indicate the USCIS service center that received the petition (e.g., EAC = Eastern, WAC = Western, LIN = Nebraska, SRC = Texas); they do not indicate case type or visa category.
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