Type your 13-character receipt number to see which USCIS office the letters stand for, what the digits usually mean, and what that office typically handles. Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to check the status.
Every USCIS receipt number is 3 letters followed by 10 digits. Here's how a classic service-center receipt is commonly read, using the example WAC2390112345:
| Part | Example | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Prefix (3 letters) | WAC | The office or system that received the case. WAC is the California Service Center. |
| Fiscal year (2 digits) | 23 | USCIS fiscal year 2023, which ran October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023. USCIS's year starts in October, so this can be one higher than the calendar year you filed in. |
| Computer workday (3 digits) | 901 | Traditionally the working day the case was entered. A block starting with 9 is very common on recent receipts and is generally read as a marker for lockbox or electronic intake rather than a literal day. |
| Sequence (5 digits) | 12345 | A running number for the case within that batch. It isn't your place in a queue. |
This structure is how receipt numbers are commonly understood, not something USCIS publishes as a guarantee.
Receipts that start with IOE belong to USCIS's electronic system (ELIS). That includes anything filed online and many paper filings USCIS processes electronically. Their 10 digits, as in IOE0912345678, don't follow the fiscal year / workday / sequence pattern, so you can't read a filing year from them. The decoder above tells you so instead of guessing.
Your receipt number is on the I-797C Notice of Action USCIS mails after accepting your filing, in the "Receipt Number" box near the top. If you track many receipts for clients, see receipt number tracking for firms and I-797 receipt notice tracking.
| Prefix | Office | Type |
|---|---|---|
| EAC | Vermont Service Center | Service center |
| WAC | California Service Center | Service center |
| LIN | Nebraska Service Center | Service center |
| SRC | Texas Service Center | Service center |
| YSC | Potomac Service Center | Service center |
| MSC | National Benefits Center | National Benefits Center |
| NBC | National Benefits Center | National Benefits Center |
| IOE | USCIS Electronic Immigration System (ELIS) | Online filing (USCIS ELIS) |
Other three-letter codes exist, such as codes for local field offices. If your prefix isn't listed, double check it against your notice.
The prefix tells you where a case was received, not how strong it is or how it will be decided. Each center has its own mix of forms and its own backlog, so the same form can move at different speeds in different places, and USCIS regularly transfers cases between offices to balance work. For timing, check USCIS processing times by form (H-1B petitions have their own H-1B processing times page), and for what your current status means, see USCIS case status meanings.
It's printed on the I-797C Notice of Action that USCIS sends after accepting your filing, in the box labeled "Receipt Number" near the top of the notice. Approval and other I-797 notices show it in the same place. If you filed online, it's also in your USCIS online account.
The first 3 letters identify the office or system that took in the case, such as WAC for the California Service Center or IOE for USCIS's online system. On classic service-center receipts, the 10 digits are commonly read as a 2-digit fiscal year, a 3-digit "computer workday" and a 5-digit sequence number. USCIS doesn't publish this as a guarantee, so treat it as a guide.
IOE receipts are issued for cases in USCIS's electronic system, ELIS. Everything filed online with a USCIS account gets one, and USCIS also gives IOE receipts to many paper filings it processes electronically. The digits of an IOE receipt don't encode a fiscal year or workday, and an IOE receipt doesn't tell you which office will decide the case.
Only indirectly. Processing time depends mostly on the form, the category and the office actually working the case, and cases are often transferred between offices after they're received. Look up your form on our processing times page, or enter your receipt number on the status check for an estimate based on similar cases.
No prefix is better than another. They're different offices with different workloads, so the same form can move faster at one center than another at a given time. USCIS decides where a case goes; you can't choose by prefix.
Usually it's the USCIS fiscal year in which the case was received. USCIS's fiscal year starts on October 1, so a case received in November 2023 normally has 24 in that position, not 23.
First check for typos: the letter O and the digit 0 are easy to mix up, and you should enter it without dashes or spaces. Brand-new receipts can take several days to show up online. If it still isn't found after a couple of weeks, contact the USCIS Contact Center with your notice in hand.
No. The receipt number identifies one filing. An A-Number (Alien Registration Number) is 8 or 9 digits and identifies you across all your filings. A National Visa Center case number looks similar to a receipt number but is checked on the State Department's CEAC site, not with USCIS.
No. When USCIS moves a case to another office, the receipt number stays the same, including the original prefix. That's why the prefix tells you where a case started, not necessarily where it is now.
This page is general information, not legal advice. For anything that affects your case, confirm with USCIS or an immigration attorney. Ready to look up your case? Check your case status.