How-To Guide · Updated August 2026
What is a USCIS receipt number and how to read it
The 13-character code on your receipt notice, decoded in plain English: what the letters mean, where to find it, and how it differs from your other USCIS numbers.
The short answer
A USCIS receipt number is the 13-character case ID that USCIS prints on the receipt notice it mails you after it accepts a filing (that notice is called Form I-797C, Notice of Action). It is three letters followed by ten digits, like IOE0912345678. You use it to check your case status online and to link a mailed case to a USCIS account. It is not your A-Number and not your online account number.
At a glance
| What it is | The ID for one specific case you filed with USCIS. Every form you file gets its own receipt number. |
| What it looks like | 13 characters: three letters, then ten digits (for example, IOE0912345678 or EAC2290123456). |
| Where to find it | Near the top of the receipt notice USCIS mailed you, the Form I-797C, in the field labeled "Receipt Number." |
| What it's for | Checking your case status online and adding a mailed case to a USCIS online account. |
| What it is not | Not your A-Number, not your USCIS online account number, and not the same as any other form's receipt number. |
Facts here are current as of August 2026, drawn from USCIS's Case Status Online tool and Form I-797 (Notice of Action) materials. USCIS does not publish an official character-by-character key, so the digit breakdown below is the common industry reading, not an official USCIS spec. Verify anything case-specific at my.uscis.gov.
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What a USCIS receipt number is
When USCIS accepts a form you filed, it opens a case and gives that case a number. That number is your receipt number: a 13-character code that identifies your one specific filing. USCIS prints it on the notice it mails back to confirm your form arrived, a notice called Form I-797C, Notice of Action.
Think of it as the tracking number for your case. The way a package carrier gives every shipment its own tracking number, USCIS gives every accepted form its own receipt number. If you filed several forms together (say the petition, the green card application, the work permit, and the travel permit), you get a separate receipt notice for each one, and each carries its own receipt number.
The receipt number is not proof your case was approved. It only means USCIS received your filing and started working on it. Approval, if it comes, arrives on a later notice.
How to read a USCIS receipt number
A receipt number is always three letters followed by ten digits, 13 characters in total. The three letters at the front show where USCIS took in and processed your case. The ten digits that follow encode the year and an internal case number.
Here is the common way the code is read, using EAC2212350960 as an example:
| Part | Example | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| First 3 characters (letters) | EAC | The USCIS office or system that received the case |
| Next 2 digits | 22 | The government budget year the case was received (the federal "fiscal year," which runs October 1 to September 30) |
| Next 3 digits | 123 | An internal processing-day code USCIS assigns |
| Last 5 digits | 50960 | The individual case number in that batch |
One honest caveat that most guides skip: USCIS does not publish an official key to the digits. The breakdown above is how the immigration community has reverse-engineered the pattern over the years, and it is reliable for the letters and the two-digit year. The middle three digits are often described as the "workday" the case opened, but real receipt numbers do not always follow that rule cleanly, so treat those digits as an internal code, not a date you can convert.
This is especially true for numbers that start with IOE. The digit pattern grew up around the older service-center numbers, and USCIS's electronic-system (IOE) numbers do not reliably encode a readable filing date. If you want to know when your case was filed, read it off your receipt notice, don't try to decode it from the digits. The part you actually need, to check status and link your case, is the full 13-character string, exactly as printed.
When you enter a receipt number anywhere, type all 13 characters with no spaces and no dashes, letters included.
What the three letters mean
The first three letters tell you which USCIS service center or system handled your case. They do not tell you anything about whether your case is going well or badly, and they are not something you choose. USCIS assigns them based on how and where your case was taken in.
| Prefix | Where it points |
|---|---|
| IOE | Filed online or moved into USCIS's electronic system (USCIS calls this ELIS). Common on cases filed through a USCIS online account. |
| EAC | Vermont Service Center (the letters trace to its old name, the "Eastern Adjudication Center") |
| WAC | California Service Center (from its old name, the "Western Adjudication Center") |
| LIN | Nebraska Service Center (from "Lincoln") |
| SRC | Texas Service Center (from "Southern Regional Center") |
| MSC | National Benefits Center (the intake center that handles many marriage green card cases) |
| NBC | National Benefits Center |
| YSC | Potomac Service Center |
You may also see the newer center codes CSC (California), NSC (Nebraska), TSC (Texas), and VSC (Vermont). They point to the same four service centers as the older EAC/WAC/LIN/SRC codes above.
A note on one common mix-up: MSC is often written out as "Missouri Service Center." That is a back-formation. The office it points to is the National Benefits Center, USCIS's intake center for many family cases, which happens to sit in Lee's Summit, Missouri. If your marriage green card case has an MSC number, it is at the National Benefits Center.
If your number starts with IOE instead of a service-center code, nothing is wrong. IOE just means your case lives in the online system. Many marriage green card packets mailed today get IOE numbers because USCIS scans them into its electronic system, and an IOE number is what lets you do more inside a USCIS online account.
Where to find your receipt number
Your receipt number is easiest to find on the receipt notice USCIS mailed you. Look near the top of the Form I-797C, Notice of Action, for the field labeled "Receipt Number." It is the 13-character code (three letters, then ten digits). If you filed more than one form, you have more than one I-797C, each with its own number.
If you can't find the paper notice, a few other places show it:
- The text or email alert USCIS sends if you filed Form G-1145 (a small optional form that asks USCIS to notify you electronically when it accepts your filing).
- Your bank or card record for the filing fee, on some accounts.
- Your USCIS online account, if you filed online or already added the case.
If you filed by mail and none of these help, the USCIS Contact Center (800-375-5283) can look up a case, though you'll need to verify your identity.
Receipt number vs. the other USCIS numbers
The receipt number gets confused with three other numbers all the time, because a green card case involves several IDs at once. Here is how they differ.
| Number | What it looks like | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt number | 3 letters + 10 digits (IOE0912345678) | One specific case or filing |
| A-Number (Alien Registration Number) | "A" + seven to nine digits (A012345678) | You, the person, in DHS records |
| USCIS online account number | 12 digits | Your online account, not any single case |
| Underlying petition's receipt number | 3 letters + 10 digits | The petition your green card is based on (for a marriage case, the I-130), a different case from your I-485 |
Two of these trip people up the most.
Your A-Number is a personal ID that follows you across every case and document. Your receipt number belongs to one filing. You can have one A-Number and several receipt numbers at the same time. For the full picture of the A-Number, see what an A-Number is and where to find it.
The underlying petition's receipt number matters when you fill out the green card application (Form I-485). One question there asks for the receipt number of the petition your case is based on, which for a marriage case is the Form I-130 your spouse filed, not the I-485 itself. That is a narrower, form-specific question with its own rules, covered in where to find the receipt number of the underlying petition.
How to use your receipt number
Your receipt number has two main jobs: checking your status and linking your case to an online account.
Check your case status online. USCIS runs a free public tool, Case Status Online, at egov.uscis.gov/casestatus. Type your 13-character receipt number into the box (no spaces, no dashes) and it shows that one case's current status and the date it last updated. No login and nothing mailed. Because each form has its own receipt number, you check each one separately.
Add a mailed case to a USCIS online account. A case you mailed to USCIS does not show up in an online account on its own. You add it yourself: sign in at my.uscis.gov, choose "Add a paper-filed case," and enter your receipt number along with a one-time Online Access Code (a separate code USCIS mails you) and your date of birth. Once linked, you get alerts every time your status changes. The step-by-step version, including what to do if your access code never arrived, is in how to add a paper-filed case to your USCIS online account.
What you can do after linking depends on those first three letters again. IOE cases get full online access, including viewing notices and uploading documents. Service-center cases (LIN, EAC, MSC, SRC, WAC, YSC) get status and alerts only; you still answer USCIS by mail on those.
A few things a receipt number does not tell you
The receipt number is useful, but people expect more from it than it holds. It does not tell you:
- How close you are to approval. The number is assigned at intake and never changes to reflect progress. Status updates come from the Case Status tool, not the number.
- Your priority date. Your place in any visa line comes from when USCIS received the underlying petition, not from decoding the digits.
- Which officer has your case. The number identifies the office and the case, not a person.
Two situations surprise filers. First, "USCIS says my receipt number isn't found." For the first days or weeks after filing, the case may not be loaded into the status tool yet. Double-check you typed all 13 characters with no spaces. If it still shows nothing well after your notice arrived, call the Contact Center.
Second, "my case moved to a different office, which number do I use?" When USCIS transfers a case to another office, the case usually keeps its original receipt number. Always use the receipt number on your most recent USCIS notice, and if a transfer notice shows the same number as before, that is normal.
Where Green Card Genius fits
Green Card Genius is self-help software for marriage-based green cards. It walks you through plain-English questions, fills in your USCIS forms based on your answers, and builds your packet for you to review, sign, and file yourself. Reading and tracking your receipt number afterward is a free USCIS feature, and this guide is here so you can use it without paying anyone.
Because you file your own packet under your own name and email, your receipt notices and any online access code come straight to you, not to a middleman, which is the single most common reason people lose track of their numbers.
Green Card Genius is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. For a case with legal complications, an immigration attorney is the right call.
Frequently asked questions
What is a USCIS receipt number?
It is the 13-character ID USCIS assigns to a case when it accepts a form you filed. The format is three letters followed by ten digits, like IOE0912345678. USCIS prints it on the receipt notice it mails you (Form I-797C, Notice of Action), and you use it to check your case status and link your case to a USCIS online account.
How do I read my USCIS receipt number?
The first three letters show which USCIS office or system took in your case. The next two digits are the government budget year it was received. The remaining digits are an internal case number. USCIS does not publish an official key, so treat the middle digits as an internal code, not a date. The whole 13-character string is what you actually use.
What does IOE mean on my receipt number?
IOE means your case is in USCIS's electronic system (which USCIS calls ELIS), usually because it was filed online or scanned into the system after a mailed filing. It is not better or worse than a service-center code. An IOE number is what lets you do more, like uploading documents, inside a USCIS online account.
I filed by mail, so why does my receipt number start with IOE?
That is normal and not a mistake. USCIS scans many mailed cases into its electronic system and gives them an IOE number, so plenty of paper filers end up with one. An IOE number is a good thing: it is what lets you view notices and upload documents inside a USCIS online account. It does not mean your case is faster or slower than a service-center case.
Is my receipt number the same as my A-Number?
No. Your A-Number (Alien Registration Number) is "A" followed by seven to nine digits and identifies you as a person across all your cases. Your receipt number is three letters plus ten digits and identifies one specific filing. You can have one A-Number and several receipt numbers at once.
Why do I have more than one receipt number?
Because USCIS gives every accepted form its own number. A marriage green card packet often includes the petition, the green card application, the work permit, and the travel permit, so you get a separate receipt notice and receipt number for each. Check each one separately in the status tool.
Where do I find my receipt number if I lost the notice?
Check the text or email alert USCIS sent if you filed Form G-1145, your bank or card record for the filing fee, or your USCIS online account if the case is linked. If none of those work, the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 can look it up after verifying your identity.
Did my receipt number change when my case was transferred?
Usually not. A case transferred to another USCIS office normally keeps its original receipt number. Use the number on your most recent USCIS notice, and if a transfer notice shows the same number, that is expected.
Can I check my case status with just my receipt number?
Yes. Enter your 13-character receipt number at Case Status Online (egov.uscis.gov/casestatus), with no spaces or dashes, and it shows that case's current status for free. You only need an account and a mailed access code to get alerts and, for IOE cases, to act on your case online.
Key takeaways
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A USCIS receipt number is the 13-character ID for one specific case: three letters, then ten digits, like IOE0912345678.
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USCIS prints it near the top of the receipt notice it mails you, the Form I-797C, Notice of Action, in the field labeled "Receipt Number."
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The three letters show the USCIS office or system (IOE means the online system); the two digits after are the year; the rest is an internal case number, not a date.
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USCIS does not publish an official key to the digits, so the whole 13-character string is what you use, exactly as printed.
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It is not your A-Number, not your USCIS online account number, and not any other form's receipt number. Every form you file gets its own.
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Use it to check status free at Case Status Online, and to add a mailed case to a USCIS online account (along with a separate access code).
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A case transferred between USCIS offices usually keeps its original receipt number; always use the number on your latest notice.
This article is for general information, not legal advice. Green Card Genius is self-help immigration software, not a law firm, and does not provide legal representation. USCIS processes and tools change; verify details at my.uscis.gov before relying on them. Current as of August 2026.
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Continue reading
- 01What Is an A-Number? Where to Find It on Every Document (2026)
- 02I-485 Receipt Number of Underlying Petition (Part 2, Item 2): Where to Find It (2026)
- 03How to Add a Paper-Filed Case to Your USCIS Online Account (2026)
- 04What Happens After You Mail Your Marriage Green Card Application (2026)
- 05I-485 USCIS Online Account Number (Part 1, Item 9): Leave It Blank? (2026)
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