To track an I-140 petition, enter the 13-character receipt number from your Form I-797 Notice of Action into the USCIS Case Status Online tool at uscis.gov. The tool runs around the clock and shows the most recent action on the case along with any next step. For alerts when the status changes, create a free account at my.uscis.gov and save the receipt number there. To see how much longer the case should take, use the separate Processing Times tool.
What You Need Before You Can Check
Everything starts with the receipt number. USCIS prints it in the upper left corner of Form I-797, the notice the agency mails to confirm it accepted the filing. The number is three letters followed by ten digits.
The three-letter prefix tells you where the case is being handled. LIN is the Nebraska Service Center, SRC is Texas, WAC is California, and EAC is Vermont. If the petition was filed online, the receipt number starts with IOE instead.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipt Number The remaining digits encode the fiscal year and the day the case was opened.
The employer is the legal petitioner in most I-140 cases, so the I-797 is usually mailed to the company or its immigration attorney. If you are the employee, you need the receipt number from them. Two categories let the foreign worker self-petition and receive the notice directly: the EB-1A extraordinary ability classification and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Petition Filing and Processing Procedures for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
If You Don’t Have the Receipt Number
When the employer is uncooperative or the notice has gone missing, the beneficiary can request immigration records through a Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request. As of January 2026, USCIS requires these requests to be submitted online at first.uscis.gov after creating an account. Asking for the specific I-797 notice rather than the entire case file speeds up the response considerably.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request Records through the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act This route is a practical lifeline for workers whose employment relationship has soured but who still need to preserve or monitor their petition.
Case Status Online and my.uscis.gov
The fastest check is the Case Status Online tool on uscis.gov. Enter the 13-character receipt number and the system returns the most recent action taken and any next step. It works from a phone and is available 24 hours a day.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online
For anything beyond a one-off check, create a free account at my.uscis.gov. Once you sign in, you can save your receipt number so you don’t have to re-enter it, view up to the last five actions on the case, and turn on automated notifications that send a text or email the moment the status changes. Employers and attorneys managing several petitions can track all of them from the same account.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online Setting up alerts takes a few minutes and replaces the habit of refreshing the status page.
How Much Longer Should It Take
The status tool tells you what has happened. It doesn’t tell you when the case should be decided. For that, USCIS keeps a separate Processing Times tool. Select “I-140” from the form dropdown, choose the employment-based category (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and so on), and pick the service center listed on your receipt notice. The tool displays the current estimated processing window for that combination.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Processing Times
Processing times vary widely by category and shift from quarter to quarter. The same tool shows a case inquiry date. Once your receipt date is older than that date, your case has exceeded normal processing time and you are eligible to submit a formal inquiry. To find your case inquiry date, enter the receipt date printed on your I-797 notice into the tool’s input field.6Department of Homeland Security. Check Your USCIS Case Inquiry Date Before Asking For Our Help with USCIS Processing Delays
Phone, Chat, and Formal Inquiries
If the online tools leave you with questions, the USCIS Contact Center answers at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833). Live assistance is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, and an automated speech system handles basic questions around the clock. Emma, the virtual assistant on the USCIS website, handles quick questions about case status and next steps.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Contact Center One caveat: if your question can be answered by the online status tool, the phone system will send you back there rather than connecting you to a person.
Filing an e-Request
When your case has been pending longer than the posted processing time, submit an e-Request. It is a formal electronic inquiry asking USCIS to look into the delay. The form asks for the petitioner’s details and a description of the issue. USCIS generally responds within a few weeks, by email or mail, and the response often explains why the case is taking longer than expected.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. e-Request – Check Case Processing Keep copies of every inquiry you submit. They build a paper trail that matters if you have to escalate.
Escalating to the CIS Ombudsman
If you have contacted USCIS through its regular channels and the problem is still unresolved after 60 days, you can request help from the CIS Ombudsman at the Department of Homeland Security. Two conditions apply: you must have submitted an inquiry to USCIS within the last 90 days, and you must have given the agency at least 60 days to respond. The request is made through DHS Form 7001, submitted online with supporting documentation.9Department of Homeland Security. How to Submit a Case Assistance Request The Ombudsman can help with processing delays, undelivered notices, petition transfer hold-ups to the State Department, and situations where USCIS appears to have applied the law incorrectly. Individuals, employers, attorneys, and accredited representatives can all submit requests.
What the Status Messages Actually Mean
The status tool uses specific phrases that don’t always explain themselves. Here is what the common ones tell you.
Case Was Received
USCIS accepted the filing and collected the fees. If premium processing was requested, USCIS guarantees action within 15 business days for most I-140 categories, or 45 business days for EB-1C multinational managers and EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions. If USCIS misses that deadline, it refunds the premium processing fee.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
Case Is Being Actively Reviewed
An officer has been assigned and is examining the evidence. It does not mean a decision is imminent. It just means the case has moved past the initial queue. No action is needed from you.
Request for Evidence Was Sent
The officer needs more documentation before deciding. For I-140 petitions, you get 84 calendar days (12 weeks) to respond. USCIS adds 3 mailing days if you are in the United States, or 14 days if the notice goes to an address outside the country.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Evidence If you filed with premium processing, the clock on the processing guarantee pauses when the RFE is issued and resets when USCIS receives your response.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing Missing the RFE deadline can result in the petition being denied as abandoned, so treat that date as a hard wall.
Notice of Intent to Deny
A NOID is more serious than an RFE. Where an RFE asks for missing evidence, a NOID means the officer has reviewed the record and is leaning toward denial, giving you one chance to change that outcome with additional evidence or arguments. The response deadline and format are similar to an RFE, and ignoring it leads to denial.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Notices of Intent to Deny – Policy Alert Consulting an immigration attorney before responding to a NOID is worth the cost.
Case Was Transferred
USCIS moved the file to another service center, usually to balance workloads. It doesn’t signal a problem with the petition, though it can shift the expected timeline because the new center may process at a different speed.
Case Was Approved
USCIS verified the job offer and the worker’s qualifications. USCIS forwards the case to the National Visa Center if the beneficiary will process for an immigrant visa abroad, or the beneficiary may file Form I-485 if already in the United States and a visa number is available. The petition often takes longer to arrive at the National Visa Center than the approval notice takes to reach the petitioner.13Department of State. Immigrant Visas Processing – General FAQs