To check your green card delivery status, use two tools together: the USCIS Case Status Online portal at egov.uscis.gov and, once your card ships, the USPS tracking number USCIS provides. Both start from the 13-character receipt number on any notice USCIS has sent you. If the portal shows your card was mailed but 90 days pass without it arriving, you can file a non-delivery inquiry with USCIS.
Find Your Receipt Number First
Every tracking method depends on this number. USCIS assigns a unique 13-character code when it receives your application: three letters followed by ten digits.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Receipt Number
You’ll find it on your Form I-797, Notice of Action, which USCIS mails to confirm it received or approved your application.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions Misplaced the notice? Log in at myaccount.uscis.gov, where receipt numbers for your filed cases are stored.
Check the Status on the USCIS Portal
Go to egov.uscis.gov, enter your 13-character receipt number without dashes, and click Check Status. The system returns the most recent action USCIS has taken.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case Status Online If your receipt number as printed contains asterisks or other characters, include them.
The messages move through a rough progression. After approval, the status will indicate the card is being produced. Once it ships, the language updates to reflect that USPS has picked it up, and a USPS tracking number becomes available so you can follow the package directly.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Track Delivery of Your Notice or Secure Identity Document (or Card) Check every few days, not hourly. The portal doesn’t update in real time.
Track the Package Through USPS
USCIS ships green cards through the Secure Mail Initiative, using USPS Priority Mail with delivery confirmation.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Track Delivery of Your Notice or Secure Identity Document (or Card) Once the portal shows the card was mailed, plug the USPS tracking number into usps.com. Delivery typically requires a signature and valid photo ID from the recipient, so plan to be home. If you miss the carrier, USPS leaves a notice with instructions for redelivery or pickup at your local post office.
For an extra layer of visibility, sign up for USPS Informed Delivery at informeddelivery.usps.com. The free service emails you daily images of incoming letter mail and notifications about packages headed to your address.6United States Postal Service. Informed Delivery – Mail and Package Notifications You can also use it to request that a package be held for pickup, which helps if you’re concerned about missing the carrier or about theft from your mailbox.
Confirm USCIS Has Your Current Address
A surprising number of green card deliveries fail here. USPS will not forward mail from USCIS, even if you filed a standard change of address with the post office.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address Green cards and other secure documents are marked so they return to sender rather than forward. If you’ve moved since applying and haven’t told USCIS, the card bounces back to the agency.
Federal law requires most noncitizens to report an address change to USCIS within 10 days of moving.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address You can do this through your USCIS online account under the Change of Address tool. When you update, enter the receipt numbers for each pending case so the change applies to your green card production. Run the address through the USPS ZIP code lookup so it matches USPS’s standard formatting; small mismatches between the two systems can cause delivery problems.
How Long Delivery Should Take
Timing depends on how you became a permanent resident. If you entered on an immigrant visa and paid the USCIS immigrant visa fee before arriving, your green card can take up to 90 days from your entry date. If you paid the fee after entering, the 90-day clock starts on the payment date.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to Expect Your Green Card If you haven’t paid the immigrant visa fee at all, the card won’t be produced.
For adjustment-of-status applicants already in the country, the realistic window from approval to mailbox is often two to six weeks, though production or postal delays can stretch that. A few quiet weeks on the portal isn’t unusual. The important threshold is 90 days from your approval notice: that’s when USCIS lets you file a non-delivery inquiry.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Non-Delivery of Card
What to Do If the Card Doesn’t Arrive
Once 90 days have passed since your approval notice, submit a non-delivery inquiry at egov.uscis.gov/e-request/ndc. Select the option for a recently approved application. You’ll need your receipt number, A-Number (if applicable), filing date, application type, and email address.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Non-Delivery of Card The inquiry prompts USCIS to check its mailing records and determine whether the card was returned as undeliverable.
If the portal shows the card was mailed but USPS tracking indicates it was never delivered, contact USPS first using the tracking number. If USPS can’t locate it, file the non-delivery inquiry so USCIS can investigate whether a second mailing is possible.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Track Delivery of Your Notice or Secure Identity Document (or Card)
Replacing a Card That Was Never Received
When USCIS confirms the card can’t be redelivered, file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) If you select the reason “my authorized card was never received,” no filing fee or biometric fee is required. The same fee exemption applies when a card was issued with incorrect information due to a USCIS error.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-90 Instructions The full filing fee applies only when you’re replacing a card that arrived and was later lost, stolen, or destroyed. Fees change, so check the USCIS fee schedule before filing.
Temporary Proof of Status While You Wait
A delayed card doesn’t erase your status, but it can create problems when you need to prove work authorization or travel abroad. If you need documentation now, request a temporary I-551 stamp, also called an ADIT stamp. Placed in your passport, it serves as valid proof of permanent resident status for employment verification and reentry to the United States.
There are two ways to get one:
- By mail. Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283. An officer verifies your identity, confirms your address, and checks that it can receive express delivery from UPS or FedEx. If approved, USCIS mails you a Form I-94 carrying the ADIT stamp, a DHS seal, and your photo pulled from agency records.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces Additional Mail Delivery Process for Receiving ADIT Stamp
- In person. Schedule an appointment at a USCIS field office through my.uscis.gov, selecting ADIT Stamp as the reason. Bring your foreign passport, any expired green card you have, your I-797 receipt notice, and a government-issued photo ID.
You’ll still need to appear in person for urgent travel, when USCIS doesn’t have a usable photo on file, or when your identity or address can’t be confirmed by phone. The stamp is valid for up to one year, depending on your situation.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces Additional Mail Delivery Process for Receiving ADIT Stamp